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Sergeant  Hunter  Charging  the  Confederates 


Brave  Deeds  of 

\ 

Union  Soldiers 

By 

SAMUEL  SCOVIIXE,  Jr. 

® 

PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 

Copyright,  191 5,  by 

George  W.  Jacobs  &  Company 

Published  November,  ipij 


All  rights  reserved 
Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


To  Theodore  Roosevelt 

Commissioner,  Governor,  Colonel  and 
President,  zvho  believes  in  peace  with 
honor,  but  never  in  peace  at  the  price 
of  righteousness  and  ivhose  ozvn  life 
has  been  full  of  deeds  of  physical  and 
vioral  courage,  this  book  of  brave 
deeds  is  dedicated. 


Foreword 

IN  these  days  when  even  our  skies  are  shadowed 
by  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  it  is  fitting  to  re- 
member what  men  and  women  and  children  of 
our  blood  have  done  in  the  past.  In  this  chronicle 
have  been  included  not  alone  the  great  deeds  of 
great  men,  but  also  the  brave  deeds  of  common- 
place people.  May  the  tale  of  their  every-day 
heroism  be  an  inspiration  to  each  one  of  us  to  do 
our  best  endeavor  when  we  find  ourselves  in  the 
crisis-times  of  life. 


Contents 

I. 

The  Bare  Brigade        . 

ii 

II. 

The  Escape  from  Libby  Prison    . 

19 

III. 

Two  Against  a  City    . 

39 

IV. 

Boy  Heroes  ...... 

5* 

V. 

The  Charge  of  Zagonyi 

79 

VI. 

The  Locomotive  Chase 

95 

VII. 

Sheridan's  Ride    . 

121 

VIII. 

The  Bloody  Angle        . 

141 

IX. 

Heroes  of  Gettysburg 

163 

X. 

The  Lone  Scout  .... 

185 

XI. 

Running  the  Gauntlet 

.     213 

XII. 

Forgotten  Heroes 

.     229 

XIII. 

The  Three  Hundred  Who  Saved  Ah 

r 

Army         ..... 

•     253 

XIV. 

The  Rescue  of  the  Scouts  . 

•     273 

XV. 

The  Boy-General 

•     311 

XVI. 

Medal-of-Honor  Men 

•     325 

Illustrations 


Sergeant  Hunter  Charging  the  Confederates  .  .  Frontispiece 

Libby  Prison  .....       Facing  page        24 

Captain  Bailey  and  Midshipman  Read  Fac- 


ing  the  New  Orleans  Mob  . 

46 

Sheridan  Hurrying  to  Rally  his  Men 

«         136 

The  Battle  of  Gettysburg 

174 

Corporal  Pike        .... 

"         190 

In  the  Woods  Near  Chancellorsville 

**         264 

Attacking    the    Inner   Traverses    of 
Fisher 

Fort 

'*         1 20 

CHAPTER  I 
The  Bare  Brigade 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  BARE  BRIGADE 

KIPLING  wrote  one  of  his  best  stories  on  how 
Mulvaney  and  his  captain  with  an  undressed  com- 
pany swam  the  Irriwaddy  River  in  India  and  cap- 
tured Lungtungpen.  It  was  a  brave  deed.  The 
average  man  can't  be  brave  without  his  clothes. 

In  the  Civil  War  there  was  one  unchronicled 
fight  where  a  few  naked,  shoeless  men  swam  a 
roaring  river,  marched  through  a  thorny  forest  and 
captured  a  superior  and  entrenched  force  of  the 
enemy  together  with  their  guns.  This  American 
Lungtungpen  happened  on  the  great  march  of 
General  Sherman  to  the  sea.  He  had  fought  the 
deadly  and  lost  battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain,  and 
failing  to  drive  out  the  crafty  Confederate  General 
Johnson  by  direct  assault  outflanked  him  and  forced 
him  to  fall  back.  Then  the  Union  Army  cele- 
brated the  Fourth  of  July,  1864,  by  the  battle  of 
Rufls  Station  and  drove  Johnson  back  and  across 
the  Chattahoochee  River.     The  heavy  rains  had 


14     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 


so  swollen  this  river  that  all  the  fords  were  impas- 
sable, while  the  Confederates  had  destroyed  all 
boats  for  miles  up  and  down  the  river  to  prevent 
them  from  being  used  by  the  Union  Army  and 
had  settled  down  for  a  rest  from  their  relentless 
pursuers.  General  McCook  was  commanding  the 
part  of  the  Union  line  fronting  directly  on  the 
river.  Orders  came  from  General  Sherman  to 
cross  at  Cochran's  Ford  and  Colonel  Brownlow  of 
the  First  Tennessee  Regiment  was  ordered  to  carry 
out  this  command.  He  was  the  son  of  Fighting 
Parson  Brownlow  and  had  the  reputation  of  not 
knowing  what  fear  was.  The  attempt  was  made 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  was  raining  in 
torrents  and  the  men  at  the  word  of  command 
dashed  into  the  river.  The  water  kept  getting 
deeper  and  deeper  and  the  bottom  proved  to  be 
covered  with  great  boulders  over  which  the  horses 
stumbled  and  round  which  the  cross  torrents 
foamed  and  rushed.  When  the  men  had  finally 
reached  the  middle  of  the  river  and  were  swimming 
for  dear  life,  suddenly  a  company  of  Confederates 
on  the  other  side  opened  up  on  them  at  close 
range.  As  the  bullets  zipped  and  pattered  through 
the  water,  the  floundering,  swimming  men  turned 


THE  BARE  BRIGADE  15 

around  and  made  the  best  of  their  way  back,  feel- 
ing that  this  was  an  impossible  crossing  to  make. 
Once  safely  back  they  deployed  on  the  bank  and 
kept  up  a  scattering  fire  all  that  morning  against 
the  enemy. 

As  the  day  wore  on,  Colonel  Dorr,  who  com- 
manded the  brigade,  made  his  appearance  and 
inquired  angrily  why  the  First  Tennessee  was  not 
on  the  other  side  and  in  possession  of  the  opposite 
bank.  Colonel  Brownlow  explained  that  he  had 
made  the  attempt,  that  there  was  no  ford  and  that 
to  attempt  to  make  a  swimming  charge  through 
the  rough  water  and  in  the  face  of  an  entrenched 
enemy  would  be  to  sacrifice  his  whole  regiment 
uselessly.  Colonel  Dorr  would  listen  to  no  ex- 
planations. 

"  If  you  and  your  men  are  afraid  to  do  what 
you're  told,  say  so  and  I'll  report  to  General  Sher- 
man and  see  if  he  can't  find  some  one  else,"  he 
shouted  and  rode  off,  leaving  Colonel  Brownlow 
and  his  command  in  a  fighting  frame  of  mind. 
The  former  called  nine  of  his  best  men  to  the  rear 
and  it  was  some  time  before  he  was  calm  enough 
to  speak. 

"  Boys,"  he  said  at   last,   "  we've  got  to   cross 


16    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

that  river.  It's  plain  it  can't  be  forded.  We've 
no  pontoons  and  I  am  not  going  to  have  my 
men  slaughtered  while  they  swim,  but  you  fellows 
come  with  me  and  we'll  drive  those  Rebs  out  of 
there  before  dark." 

He  then  gave  directions  for  the  rest  of  his  men 
to  keep  up  a  tremendous  fire  to  divert  the  atten- 
tion of  the  enemy.  In  the  meanwhile  he  and  his 
little  squad  marched  through  the  brush  to  a  point 
about  a  mile  up  the  river  behind  a  bend.  There 
they  stripped  to  the  skin  and  made  a  little  raft  of 
two  logs.  On  this  they  placed  their  carbines, 
cartridge  boxes  and  belts  and  swam  out  into  the 
rough  water,  pushing  the  little  raft  in  front  of 
them.  It  was  hard  going.  The  water  was  high, 
and  every  once  in  a  while  the  fierce  current  would 
dash  and  bruise  some  of  the  men  against  the 
boulders  which  were  scattered  everywhere  along 
the  bed  of  the  river.  The  best  swimmers,  how- 
ever, helped  the  weaker  ones  and  they  all  worked 
together  to  keep  the  precious  raft  right  side  up 
and  their  ammunition  and  rifles  dry.  After  a  tre- 
mendous struggle  they  finally  reached  the  oppo- 
site bank  without  having  seen  any  Confederates. 
There    they    lined    up,    strapped   on   their  cart- 


THE  BARE  BRIGADE  17 

ridge  belts,  shouldered  their  carbines  and  started 
to  march  through  the  brush.  Every  step  they 
took  over  the  sharp  stones  and  twigs  and  thorns 
was  agony  and  the  men  relieved  themselves  by 
using  extremely  strong  language. 

"  No  swearing,  men  !  "  said  Colonel  Brownlow, 
sternly. 

At  that  moment  he  stepped  on  a  long  thorn 
and  instantly  disobeyed  his  own  order.  He  halted 
the  column,  extracted  the  thorn  and  amended  his 
order. 

"  No  swearing,  men, — unless  it's  absolutely  nec- 
essary," he  commanded. 

They  limped  along  through  the  brush  until 
they  reached  a  road  that  led  to  the  ford  some 
four  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy 
whom  they  could  see  firing  away  for  dear  life 
at  the  Union  soldiers  on  the  other  side.  The 
Confederate  forces  consisted  of  about  fifty  men. 
Colonel  Brownlow  and  his  nine  crept  through  the 
brush  as  silently  as  possible  until  they  were  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  unconscious  enemy.  Then 
they  straightened  up,  cocked  their  carbines, 
poured  in  a  volley  and  with  a  tremendous  yell 
charged    down    upon   them.     The   Confederates 


18     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

upon  receiving  this  unexpected  attack  from  the 
rear  sprang  to  their  feet,  but  when  they  saw  the 
ten  white  ghostly  figures  charge  down  upon 
them,  yelling  like  madmen,  it  was  too  much  for 
their  nerves  and  they  scattered  on  every  side. 
Twelve  of  them  were  captured.  The  last  one 
was  a  freckle-faced  rebel  who  tried  to  hide  behind 
a  tree.  When  seen,  however,  he  came  forward 
and  threw  down  his  gun. 

"  Well,  Yanks,  I  surrender,"  he  said,  "  but  it 
ain't  fair.  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  go 
charging  around  the  country  this  way.  If  you'd 
been  captured,  we'd  have  hung  you  for  spies  be- 
cause you  ain't  got  any  uniforms  on." 

Colonel  Brownlow  hustled  his  prisoners  up  the 
river  to  the  raft  and  made  them  swim  across  in 
front  of  them  and  then  reported  to  General  Mc- 
Cook  that  he  had  driven  the  enemy  out  of  the 
rifle-pits,  captured  twelve  men,  one  officer  and  two 
boats.  Shortly  afterward  the  Confederates  with- 
drew from  their  position  for,  as  some  of  the  pris- 
oners explained,  they  felt  that  if  the  Yanks  could 
fight  like  that  undressed,  there  was  no  telling 
what  they'd  do  if  they  came  over  with  their 
clothes  on. 


CHAPTER  II 
The  Escape  From  Libby  Prison 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON 

It  takes  a  brave  man  to  face  danger  alone.  It 
takes  a  braver  man  to  face  danger  in  the  dark. 
This  is  the  story  of  a  man  who  was  brave  enough 
to  do  both.  It  is  the  story  of  one  who  by  his 
dogged  courage  broke  out  of  a  foul  grave  when 
it  seemed  as  if  all  hopes  for  life  were  gone  and 
who  rescued  himself  and  one  hundred  and  eight 
other  Union  soldiers  from  the  prison  where  they 
lay  fretting  away  their  lives. 

Libby  Prison,  the  Castle  Despair  of  captured 
Union  officers,  stood  upon  a  hilltop  in  Richmond, 
the  capital  and  center  of  the  Confederacy.  It 
was  divided  into  three  sections  by  solid  walls, 
also  ringed  around  by  a  circle  of  guards  and 
there  seemed  to  be  no  hopes  for  any  of  the  hun- 
dreds of  prisoners  to  break  out  and  escape. 

In  September,  1863,  Colonel  Thomas  Rose,  of 
the  77th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  was  taken  pris- 
oner at  the  terrible  battle  of  Chickamauga.  From 
the  minute  he  was  captured  he  thought  of  nothing 


22     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

else  but  of  escape,  although  he  had  a  broken  foot 
which  would  have  been  enough  to  keep  most 
men  quiet.  On  the  way  to  Richmond,  he  man- 
aged to  crawl  through  the  guards  and  escape 
into  the  pine-forests  through  which  they  were 
passing.  There  he  wandered  for  twenty-four 
hours  without  food  or  water  and  suffering  terribly 
from  his  wound.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was 
recaptured  by  a  troop  of  Confederate  cavalry 
and  this  time  was  carefully  guarded  and  brought 
to  Libby  Prison.  This  prison  was  a  three-story 
brick  building  which  had  formerly  been  occupied 
by  Libby  &  Company  as  a  ship-chandlery  estab- 
lishment. There  were  several  hundred  Union 
officers  imprisoned  there  when  Colonel  Rose 
arrived.  First  he  was  taken  into  the  office  of 
the  commandant.  Back  of  his  desk  was  a  United 
States  flag  fastened  "  Union  down,"  an  insult  for 
every  loyal  Union  man  that  had  to  pass  through 
this  office. 

"We'll  teach  you  to  take  better  care  of  the  old 
flag,"  remarked  Colonel  Rose  as  he  stood  before 
the  commandant's  desk  for  examination. 

The  commandant  scowled  at  this  prisoner,  but 
Rose  looked  him  in  the  eye  without  flinching. 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     23 

"  You  won't  have  a  chance  to  do  much  teach- 
ing for  some  years,"  said  the  commandant  at  last, 
grimly,  "  and  you'll  learn  a  lot  of  things  that  you 
don't  know  now." 

As  Colonel  Rose  went  up  the  ladder  which  led 
to  the  upper  rooms  and  his  head  showed  above 
the  floor,  a  great  cry  went  up  from  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners  of  "  Fresh  fish  !  fresh  fish  I  fresh  fish  1 " 
This  was  the  way  that  each  newcomer  was  re- 
ceived and  sometimes  he  was  hazed  a  little  like 
any  other  freshman. 

Although  not  as  bad  as  some  of  the  prisons, 
Libby  Prison  was  no  health  resort.  At  times 
there  were  nearly  a  thousand  prisoners  crowded 
in  there  with  hardly  standing  room.  At  night 
they  all  lined  up  in  rows  and  laid  down  at  the 
word  of  command,  so  closely  packed  that  the 
floor  was  literally  covered  with  them.  Each  one 
had  to  go  to  bed  and  get  up  at  the  same  time. 
These  crowded  conditions  made  for  disease  and 
dirt,  and  the  place  was  alive  with  vermin. 

"  Skirmish  for  gray-backs,"  was  the  morning 
call  in  Libby  Prison  before  the  men  got  up.  Each 
prisoner  then  would  sit  up  in  his  place,  strip  off 
his  outer  garments  and  cleanse  himself  as  much 


24    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

as  possible  from  the  crawling  gray-backs,  as  they 
had  nicknamed  the  vermin  which  attacked  all 
alike.  The  food  was  as  bad  as  the  quarters. 
Soon  after  Rose  arrived  one  man  found  a  whole 
rat  baked  in  a  loaf  of  corn-cake  which  had  been 
furnished  as  a  part  of  his  rations.  The  rat  had 
probably  jumped  into  the  dough-trough  while  the 
corn-cake  was  being  made  and  had  been  knocked 
in  the  head  by  the  cook  and  worked  into  the  cake. 
Another  officer  made  himself  one  night  a  bowl  of 
soup  by  boiling  a  lot  of  beans  together  with  a 
fresh  ham-bone.  He  set  it  aside  to  wait  until 
morning  so  as  to  enjoy  his  treat  by  daylight. 
Afterward  he  was  glad  he  did,  for  he  found  his 
soup  full  of  boiled  maggots.  At  times  the  men 
were  compelled  to  eat  mule-meat  and  sometimes 
were  not  even  given  that  but  had  to  sell  their 
clothing  to  keep  from  starving.  In  each  room 
was  a  single  water  faucet  without  basin  or  tub. 
This  was  all  that  perhaps  a  couple  of  hundred 
men  had  to  use  both  for  washing  and  drinking 
purposes.  The  death-rate  from  disease  in  these 
crowded  quarters  was,  of  course,  terribly  high. 

From  the  day  Rose  entered  the  prison  he  made 
up  his  mind  that  he  would  not  die  there  like  a  sick 


■;     ii     i;iii|  |W  ; .iivv  |i|ij|i 


BMfflBS 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     25 

dog  if  there  was  any  way  of  escape  and  there  was 
not  a  moment  of  his  waking  hours  in  which  he 
was  not  planning  some  way  to  get  out.  Although 
the  prisoners  were  not  supposed  to  have  com- 
munication with  each  other  or  from  outside,  there 
was  a  complete  system  under  which  each  one  had 
news  from  all  over  the  prison  as  well  as  from  the 
outside  world.  This  was  done  by  a  series  of  raps 
constituting  the  prison  telegraph.  As  the  guards 
usually  visited  the  prison  only  at  intervals  in  the 
daytime,  the  prisoners  managed  to  pass  back  and 
forth  down  through  the  chimney  throughout  the 
whole  prison  in  spite  of  locked  doors  and  sup- 
posedly solid  walls.  Messages  and  money  were 
frequently  sent  in  from  outside.  A  favorite  trick 
was  to  wind  greenbacks  around  a  spool  and  then 
have  the  thread  wound  by  machinery  over  this 
money.  Gold  pieces  were  sealed  up  in  cans  of 
condensed  milk.  Maps,  compasses  and  other 
helps  for  escaping  prisoners  were  sent  in  a  box. 
In  order  to  prevent  suspicion  of  the  fact  that  the 
box  had  a  double  bottom,  two  double  bottoms 
were  placed  on  the  box  side  by  side  with  a  space 
between  them.  When  the  contents  were  turned 
out,  the  prison  inspectors  could  see  the  light  shin- 


26     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

ing  through  the  bottom  of  the  box  and  were  thus 
convinced  that  there  could  be  no  double  bottom 
there.  Letters  were  sent  in  containing  apparently 
harmless  home-news.  Between  the  lines,  informa- 
tion as  to  routes  and  guards  was  written  in  lemon 
juice.  This  was  invisible  until  exposed  to  heat, 
when  the  writing  would  show. 

Colonel  Rose  was  placed  in  the  topmost  room 
of  the  eastern  wing.  This  was  named  Upper 
Gettysburg.  From  there  he  saw  workmen  enter- 
ing a  sewer  in  the  middle  of  a  street  which  led  to 
the  canal  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the 
prison  stood.  He  at  once  decided  to  tunnel  into 
this  sewer  and  crawl  through  that  into  the  canal 
which  was  beyond  the  line  of  the  guards.  With 
this  plan  in  view,  he  began  to  explore  the  prison. 
One  dark  afternoon  he  managed  to  make  his  way 
down  through  the  rooms  to  one  of  the  dungeons 
underneath,  which  was  known  as  Rat  Hell.  This 
had  been  used  as  a  dead-house  and  was  fairly 
swarming  with  rats.  As  he  was  fumbling  around 
there  he  suddenly  heard  a  noise  and  in  a  minute 
another  man  came  in.  Each  thought  the  other 
was  a  guard,  but  finally  it  turned  out  that  the 
intruder  was  a  fellow-prisoner,  a  Kentucky  major 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     27 

named  Hamilton.  This  Major  and  Rose  at  once 
became  fast  friends  and  immediately  planned  a 
tunnel  from  a  corner  of  Rat  Hell  after  securing  a 
broken  shovel  and  two  kitchen  knives.  They  had 
no  more  than  begun  this,  however,  before  altera- 
tions were  made  in  the  prison  which  cut  them  off 
from  this  dungeon.  By  this  time  the  other  pris- 
oners had  noticed  the  midnight  visits  of  Rose  and 
Hamilton  as  well  as  their  constant  conferences 
together  and  it  was  buzzed  around  everywhere 
that  there  was  a  plot  on  hand  to  break  out  of 
Libby.  For  fear  of  spies  or  traitors,  Rose  decided 
to  organize  a  company  of  the  most  reliable  men 
and  plan  a  dash  out  through  one  of  the  walls  and 
the  overpowering  of  the  guards.  Seventy-two 
men  were  sworn  in  and  everything  was  arranged 
for  the  dash  for  freedom  one  cloudy  night.  The 
little  band  had  all  gathered  in  Rat  Hell  and  sen- 
tries had  been  placed  at  the  floor  opening  into  the 
kitchen  above.  Suddenly  footsteps  were  heard 
and  the  signal  was  given  that  the  guards  were 
making  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  prison.  In 
perfect  silence  and  with  the  utmost  swiftness,  each 
man  went  up  the  rope-ladder  to  the  floor  above 
and  stole  into  his  bed.     Rose  was  the  last  man 


28     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

up.  He  managed  to  reach  the  kitchen  and  hide 
his  rope-ladder  about  ten  seconds  before  the 
officer  of  the  guard  thrust  his  lantern  into  the  door 
of  the  lowest  sleeping  chamber.  Rose  had  no 
time  to  lie  down,  but  with  great  presence  of  mind 
sat  at  a  table  and  stuck  an  old  pipe  into  his  mouth 
and  nodded  his  head  as  if  he  had  gone  to  sleep 
while  sitting  up  and  smoking.  The  guard  stared 
at  him  for  a  moment  and  passed  on. 

The  next  day  the  leaders  decided  that  some 
news  of  the  attempt  must  have  reached  the  au- 
thorities outside  to  account  for  this  sudden  and  un- 
usual visit.  It  was  decided  to  raise  the  numbers 
and  make  an  immediate  attempt.  The  band  was 
increased  from  seventy-two  to  four  hundred  and 
twenty.  With  the  increase  in  numbers,  however, 
there  seemed  to  be  a  decrease  of  courage.  Many 
of  the  officers  feared  that  it  was  a  hopeless  plan 
for  a  crowd  of  unarmed  men  to  break  through  a 
ring  of  armed  guards  and  that  such  an  attempt 
would  merely  arouse  the  town  and  they  would  be 
hemmed  in,  driven  back  and  shot  down  in  crowds 
inside  the  prison  walls.  Finally  a  vote  was  taken 
and  it  was  decided  to  abandon  this  plan. 

Once  more  Rose  and   Hamilton  found  them- 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     29 

selves  the  only  two  left  who  were  absolutely  re- 
solved on  an  escape.  After  talking  the  matter 
over,  they  decided  to  begin  another  tunnel.  This 
time  they  had  only  an  old  jack-knife  and  a  chisel 
to  work  with  and  they  could  only  work  between 
ten  at  night  and  four  in  the  morning.  They 
started  back  of  the  kitchen  fireplace  and  there 
removed  twelve  bricks  and  dug  a  tunnel  down  to 
Rat  Hell  so  that  they  could  reach  this  base  with- 
out disturbing  any  other  prisoners  and  without 
being  exposed  to  detection  by  the  guard.  One 
would  work  and  the  other  would  watch.  At 
dawn  each  day  the  bricks  were  replaced  and 
the  cracks  filled  in  with  soot.  They  had  no  idea 
of  direction  and  this  tunnel  was  nearly  the  death 
of  Rose.  The  digging  was  done  by  him  while 
Major  Hamilton  would  fan  air  to  him  with  his  hat, 
but  so  foul  was  the  air  below  ground  that  bits  of 
candle  which  they  had  stolen  from  the  hospital 
would  go  out  at  a  distance  of  only  four  feet  from 
the  cellar  wall.  In  spite  of  this  terrible  atmos- 
phere, Rose  dug  his  tunnel  clear  down  to  the 
canal,  but  unfortunately  went  under  the  canal  and 
the  water  rushed  in  and  he  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  being  drowned.    By  this  time  both  men  were 


3o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

so  nearly  exhausted  that  they  decided  to  take  in 
helpers  again.  Thirteen  men  were  chosen  to  work 
with  them  and  were  all  sworn  to  secrecy.  The 
flooded  passage  was  plugged  and  a  fresh  one 
started  in  the  direction  of  a  small  sewer  which  ran 
from  a  corner  of  the  prison  down  to  the  main 
sewer  beyond.  Night  after  night  in  the  mud  and 
stench  and  reek  underground  they  dug  their 
tunnel.  At  last  they  reached  the  small  sewer  only 
to  find  that  it  was  lined  with  wood.  The  only 
cutting  tools  they  had  were  a  few  small  pen- 
knives. With  these  they  slowly  whittled  a  hole 
through  the  wooden  lining  and  the  fourteen  men 
were  all  in  high  hopes  of  an  escape.  The  night 
came  when  only  a  few  hours  of  work  would  be 
necessary  to  make  a  hole  large  enough  to  enter 
the  small  sewer.  It  was  then  hoped  they  could 
all  crawl  from  this  into  the  larger  one  and  down 
into  the  canal  safe  past  the  guards.  Once  again 
they  were  all  grouped  shivering  at  the  entrance  to 
the  tunnel,  waiting  for  the  man  who  was  working 
inside  to  pass  the  word  back  that  the  opening  was 
made.  Suddenly  the  news  came  back  that  the 
entrance  into  the  large  sewer  was  barred  by 
planks  of   solid,  seasoned    oak   six    inches  thick. 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON    31 

The  chisel  and  the  penknives  were  worn  down  to 
the  handles.  For  thirty-nine  nights  these  men 
had  worked  at  the  highest  possible  pitch  under 
indescribable  conditions.  There  was  not  an  inch 
of  steel  left  to  cut  with  or  an  ounce  of  reserved 
strength  to  go  on  farther.  Despairingly,  the  party 
broke  up,  put  away  the  kits  which  they  had  prepared 
for  the  march  and  once  again  Rose  and  Hamilton 
were  left  alone  by  their  discouraged  comrades. 

After  a  day's  rest,  these  two  decided  to  start 
another  tunnel  in  the  north  corner  of  the  cellar 
away  from  the  canal.  This  tunnel  would  come 
out  close  to  the  sentry  beat  of  the  guards,  but 
Rose  had  noticed  that  this  beat  was  nearly  twenty 
yards  long  and  it  was  decided  that  in  the  dark 
there  would  be  a  fair  chance  of  slipping  through 
unseen.  Once  again  Rose  and  Hamilton  started 
on  this  new  task  alone.  They  had  finally  ob- 
tained another  chisel  and  this  was  the  only  tool 
which  they  had.  Once  more  Rose  did  the  dig- 
ging. Hamilton  would  fan  with  all  his  strength 
and  Rose  would  work  until  he  felt  his  senses  go- 
ing, then  he  would  crawl  back  into  the  cellar  and 
rest  and  get  his  breath.  The  earth  was  dragged 
out  in  an  old  wooden  cuspidor  which  they  had 


32     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

smuggled  down  from  their  room  and  Hamilton 
would  hide  this  under  a  pile  of  straw  in  the  cellar. 
The  tunnel  became  longer  and  longer,  but  Rose 
was  nearly  at  the  end  of  his  strength.  It  was  ab- 
solutely impossible  to  breathe  the  fetid  air  in  the 
farther  end  of  the  tunnel,  nor  could  Hamilton 
alone  fan  any  fresh  air  to  him.  Once  again,  and 
with  great  difficulty,  a  new  party  of  ten  was  or- 
ganized. These  worked  in  shifts — one  man  dug 
and  two  or  three  fanned  the  air  through  the  tun- 
nel with  their  hats,  another  man  dragged  the 
earth  into  the  cellar  and  a  fifth  kept  watch.  The 
first  five  would  work  until  exhausted  and  then 
their  places  would  be  taken  by  the  second  shift. 
They  finally  decided  to  work  also  by  day  and  now 
the  digging  went  on  without  interruption  every 
minute  of  the  twenty-four  hours.  Finally,  the 
little  band  of  exhausted  workers  had  gone  nearly 
fifty  feet  underground.  They  were  on  the  point 
of  breaking  down  from  absolute  exhaustion.  The 
night-shift  would  come  out  into  Rat  Hell  and  be 
too  tired  and  dazed  to  find  their  way  out  and 
would  have  to  be  looked  after  in  the  dark  and  led 
back  to  the  rooms  above  like  little  children. 

Rose,  in  spite  of  all  that  he  had  been  through, 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     33 

was  the  strongest  of  the  lot  and  could  work 
after  every  other  man  had  fallen  out.  It  was 
still  necessary  for  the  tunnel  to  be  carried  five 
feet  further  to  clear  the  wall.  Once  again  a  sick- 
ening series  of  accidents  and  surprises  occurred. 
The  day-shift  always  ran  the  risk  of  being 
missed  at  roll-call,  which  was  held  every  morn- 
ing and  afternoon.  Usually  this  was  got  around 
by  repeating — one  man  running  from  the  end 
of  the  line  behind  the  backs  of  his  comrades 
and  answering  the  name  of  the  missing  man. 
On  one  occasion,  however,  there  were  two  miss- 
ing and  a  search  was  at  once  begun  which  might 
have  resulted  in  finding  the  entrance  to  the 
tunnel.  There  was  just  time  to  pull  these  two  up 
out  of  the  dark  and  brush  off  the  telltale  dirt  from 
their  hands  and  clothes  and  tell  them  to  lie  down 
and  play  sick.  Neither  one  of  them  needed  to  do 
much  pretending  and  they  both  showed  such  signs 
of  breakdown  that  the  prison  inspector  came  near 
sending  them  to  the  hospital,  which  would  also 
have  delayed  operations.  The  next  day,  while 
one  man  was  inside  the  tunnel,  a  party  of  guards 
entered  Rat  Hell  and  remained  there  so  long  that 
it  was  evident  they  must  have  suspected  that  some- 


34    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

thing  was  going  on.  Colonel  Rose  called  his  band 
together  for  a  conference.  He  believed  that  two 
days  of  solid  work  would  finish  the  tunnel.  The 
rest  of  the  men,  however,  pleaded  for  time.  They 
were  half  sick,  wholly  exhausted  and  discouraged. 
Rose  decided  that  he  would  risk  no  further  delay 
and  that  the  last  two  days'  work  should  be  en- 
trusted to  no  one  except  himself.  The  next  day 
was  Sunday  and  the  cellar  was  usually  not  in- 
spected on  that  day.  He  posted  his  fanners  and 
sentries  and  at  early  dawn  crawled  into  the  tunnel 
and  worked  all  day  long  and  far  into  the  night 
lying  full  length  in  a  stifling  hole  hardly  two  feet 
in  diameter.  When  he  dragged  himself  out  that 
night,  he  could  not  stand  but  had  to  be  carried 
across  the  cellar  and  up  the  rope  ladder  and  fanned 
and  sponged  with  cold  water  and  fed  what  soup 
they  could  obtain  until  he  was  able  to  talk.  He 
then  told  the  band  that  he  believed  that  twelve  hours 
more  of  work  would  carry  the  tunnel  beyond  the 
danger  line.  He  slept  for  a  few  hours  and  then,  in 
spite  of  the  protests  of  the  others,  crawled  down 
into  the  reeking  hole  again,  followed  by  the  strong- 
est of  the  band  who  were  to  act  as  fanners. 

For  seventeen  days  they  had  been  working  and 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     35 

the  tunnel  was  now  fifty-three  feet  long.  In  order 
to  save  time,  Rose  had  made  the  last  few  feet  so 
narrow  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  even  turn 
over  or  shift  his  position.  All  day  long  he  worked. 
Night  came  and  he  still  toiled  on,  although  his 
strokes  were  so  feeble  that  he  only  advanced  by 
inches  each  hour.  Finally  it  was  nearly  midnight 
of  the  last  day  and  Rose  had  reached  the  limit  of 
his  strength.  The  fanners  were  so  exhausted  that 
they  could  no  longer  push  the  air  to  the  end  of  the 
tunnel.  Rose  felt  himself  dying  of  suffocation. 
He  was  too  weak  to  crawl  backward,  nor  had  he 
strength  to  take  another  stroke.  The  air  became 
fouler  and  thicker  and  he  felt  his  senses  leaving 
him  and  he  gasped  again  and  again  in  a  struggle 
for  one  breath  of  pure  air.  In  what  he  felt 
was  his  death  agony,  he  finally  forced  himself  over 
on  his  back  and  struck  the  earth  above  him  with 
his  fists  as  he  unconsciously  clutched  at  his  throat 
in  the  throes  of  suffocation.  Thrusting  out  his 
arms  in  one  last  convulsive  struggle,  he  suddenly 
felt  both  fists  go  through  the  earth  and  a  draught 
of  pure,  life-giving  air  came  in.  For  a  mo- 
ment Rose  had  the  terrible  feeling  that  it  was  too 
late  and  that  he  was  too  sick  to  rally.     Once  again, 


36     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

however,  his  indomitable  courage  drove  back 
death.  For  some  minutes  he  lay  slowly  breathing 
the  air  of  out-of-doors.  It  was  like  the  elixir  of 
life  to  him  after  long  months  of  breathing  the  foul 
atmosphere  of  the  prison  and  tunnel.  Little  by  little 
his  strength  came  back  and  he  slowly  enlarged  the 
hole  and  finally  thrust  his  head  and  shoulders  cau- 
tiously out  into  the  yard.  The  first  thing  that 
caught  his  eye  was  a  star  and  he  felt  as  if  he  had 
broken  out  of  the  grave  and  come  back  again  to 
hope  and  life.  He  found  that  he  was  still  on  the 
prison  side  of  the  wall,  but  directly  in  front  of  him 
was  a  gate  which  was  fastened  only  by  a  swinging 
bar.  Rose  spent  some  moments  practicing  raising 
this  bar  until  he  felt  sure  he  could  do  it  quietly  and 
swiftly.  Just  outside  was  the  sentry  beat.  Rose 
waited  until  the  sentry's  back  was  turned,  opened 
the  gate  and  peered  out,  convincing  himself  that 
there  was  plenty  of  time  to  pass  out  of  the  gate 
and  into  the  darkness  beyond  before  the  sentry 
turned  to  come  back.  He  then  lowered  himself 
again  into  the  stifling  tunnel,  drew  a  plank 
which  he  found  in  the  yard  over  the  opening, 
after  first  carefully  concealing  the  fresh  earth,  and 
crept  back  again  into  Rat  Hell. 


THE  ESCAPE  FROM  LIBBY  PRISON     37 

It  was  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  Rose 
gathered  together  his  little  band  and  told  them 
that  at  last  Libby  Prison  was  open.  Rose  and 
Hamilton,  the  leaders,  were  anxious  to  start  at 
once.  They  had  seen  so  many  accidents  and  so 
many  strokes  of  misfortune  that  they  urged  an  in- 
stant escape.  The  others,  however,  begged  them 
to  wait  and  to  leave  early  the  next  evening  so  that 
they  could  gain  a  whole  night's  start  before  their 
absence  was  found  at  the  morning  roll-call.  With 
many  misgivings,  Rose  at  last  consented  to  do 
this.  The  next  day  was  the  most  nerve-racking 
day  of  his  life.  Every  noise  or  whisper  of  the 
guard  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  sign  that  the  tunnel 
had  been  discovered.  The  time  finally  dragged 
along  and  nothing  happened  and  once  again  the 
party  met  in  Rat  Hell  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  February  9th  and  Rose  and  the  faith- 
ful Hamilton  led  the  way  through  the  tunnel  to 
freedom.  Every  move  was  carefully  planned. 
The  plank  was  raised  noiselessly  and  Rose  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  leave  the  gate  half-open  so 
that  the  sentry  on  duty  that  night  would  see  noth- 
ing unusual.  He  found  it  just  as  he  had  left  it. 
All  that  was  necessary  now  to  do  was  for  each 


38    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

man  to  wait  until  the  sentry  had  passed  a  few  yards 
beyond  the  gate  and  then  to  start  noiselessly 
through  and  out  to  freedom.  All  thirteen  escaped 
easily.  The  last  man  left  a  message  that  the 
prison  was  open  to  any  one  who  dared  try  the 
tunnel.  By  nine  o'clock  that  night  the  message 
flashed  through  each  ward  that  the  colonel  and  a 
party  had  escaped.  There  was  a  rush  for  the  hole 
at  the  fireplace  and  one  hundred  and  nine  other 
prisoners  slipped  through  and  got  safely  past  the 
guard.  After  days  and  weeks  of  hiding,  starving 
and  freezing,  the  original  party  and  many  of  the 
others  got  safely  through  to  the  Union  lines. 

Castle  Despair  had  again  been  broken  by  Mr. 
Great  Heart 


CHAPTER  III 
Two  Against  a  City 


CHAPTER  III 

TWO  AGAINST  A  CITY 

It  takes  brave  men  to  fight  battles.  It  takes 
braver  men  to  face  death  without  fighting. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  New  Orleans,  the  Queen 
City  of  the  South,  was  blockaded  by  the  Union 
fleet.  No  one  could  come  in  or  go  out.  The 
grass  grew  in  her  empty  streets.  The  wharves 
were  deserted  and  cobwebs  lay  on  the  shut 
and  barred  warehouses.  The  river  itself,  which 
had  been  thronged  with  the  masts  and  funnels 
of  a  thousand  crowded  craft,  flowed  yellow  and 
empty  as  the  Amazon. 

As  business  stopped  and  wages  grew  scarce 
and  scarcer,  the  fierce,  dangerous  part  of  the 
population  which  comes  to  the  surface  in  times  of 
siege  began  to  gain  more  and  more  control  of 
the  city.  For  years  there  had  been  a  secret 
society  of  criminals  in  New  Orleans  which  had 
often  controlled  her  city  government.  It  was 
known   as   the    "  Thugs."     Heretofore   they   had 


42     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

always  worked  in  secret  and  underground.  Now 
criminals  who  formerly  would  only  come  out  at 
night  and  secretly,  were  seen  on  the  streets  in 
open  day.  As  the  Union  lines  closed  around  the 
city  by  sea  and  land,  the  crowds  of  men  and 
women  without  money  and  without  work  be- 
came as  fierce  and  bitter  and  dangerous  as  rats 
in  a  trap.  For  a  while  they  told  each  other  that 
the  city  could  never  be  taken.  Nothing  afloat, 
they  said  again  and  again,  can  pass  by  the  great 
chain  and  the  sunken  ships  that  block  the  river. 
If  they  could  they  would  sink  under  the  withering 
fire  of  Fort  Jackson,  a  great  star-shaped  fort  of 
stone  and  mortar,  or  Fort  St.  Phillip  with  its  fifty- 
two  guns  which  could  be  brought  to  bear  on  any 
vessel  going  up  or  down  the  river.  Beyond  the 
forts  was  a  fleet  of  rams  and  gunboats  and  in  a 
shipyard  over  at  Jefferson,  one  of  the  suburbs  of 
New  Orleans,  was  building  the  great  iron-clad 
Mississippi,  which  alone  they  felt  would  be  equal 
to  the  whole  blockading  fleet.  So  thought  and 
said  the  swarming  unemployed  thousands  of 
New  Orleans.  Finally  came  a  dreadful  day  when 
the  tops  of  the  naked  masts  of  the  hated  Yankee 
fleet  showed  against  the  evening  sky  across  one 


TWO  AGAINST  A  CITY  43 

of  the  bends  of  the  river.  Then  came  the  roar  of 
distant  guns  for  a  day  and  a  night  as  the  Union 
vessels  attacked  the  forts  and  concealed  batteries. 
Still  the  people  believed  in  their  defenses  although 
the  firing  came  nearer  and  nearer.  Not  until  they 
saw  the  city  troops  carry  the  cotton  out  of  the 
cotton-presses  down  to  the  wharves  to  be  burned 
in  miles  of  twisting  flame  to  save  it  from  the 
Union  Army  did  they  realize  how  close  was  the 
day  of  the  surrender  of  the  city.  Then  all  the 
empty  ships  which  had  been  moored  out  in  the 
river  were  fired  and  the  warehouses  of  provisions 
still  left  were  broken  open.  Mobs  of  desperate 
men  and  women  surged  back  and  forth  fighting 
for  the  sugar  and  rice  and  molasses  with  which 
the  wharves  were  covered.  Suddenly  around 
Slaughter  House  Point,  silent,  grim  and  terrible, 
came  the  black  fleet  which  had  safely  run  the 
gauntlet  of  forts,  gunboats,  batteries  and  torpe- 
does. For  the  first  time  since  the  war  had 
begun,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  floated  again  in 
sight  of  New  Orleans.  As  the  fleet  came  nearer 
and  nearer,  the  crowds  which  blackened  the 
wharves  and  levees  of  New  Orleans  shouted  for 
the  Mississippi. 


44    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"Where  is  the  Mississippi?  Ram  the  Yanks! 
Mississippi !  Mississippi !  Mississippi ! "  thou- 
sands of  voices  roared  across  the  water  and 
through  the  forsaken  streets  of  the  doomed  city. 
And  then,  as  if  called  by  the  shout  of  her  city, 
around  a  bend  suddenly  floated  the  great  iron-clad 
Mississippi  which  was  to  save  New  Orleans, — a 
helpless,  drifting  mass  of  flames.  There  was  a 
moment  of  utter  silence  and  then  a  scream  of 
rage  and  despair  went  up  that  drowned  the  crack- 
ling of  the  flames. 

"  Betrayed !  Betrayed !  We  have  been  be- 
trayed ! "  was  the  cry  which  went  up  everywhere. 
No  stranger's  life  was  worth  a  moment's  purchase. 
One  man  whose  only  crime  was  that  he  was  un- 
known to  the  mob  was  seized  at  one  of  the  wharves 
and  in  an  instant  was  swinging,  twisting  and 
choking,  from  the  end  of  a  rope  at  a  lamp-post. 
Through  the  crowds  flitted  the  Thugs  and  began 
a  reign  of  terror  against  all  whom  they  hated  or 
feared.  Men  were  hung  and  shot  and  stabbed  to 
death  that  day  at  a  word.  The  mob  was  as  dan- 
gerous, desperate  and  as  unreasoning  as  a  mad 
dog.  Through  this  roaring,  frothing,  cursing 
crowd  it  was  necessary  for  Admiral  Farragut  to 


TWO  AGAINST  A  CITY  45 

send  messengers  to  the  mayor  at  the  City  Hall  to 
demand  the  surrender  of  the  city.  It  seemed  to 
the  men  in  the  ships  like  going  into  a  den  of 
trapped  wild  beasts,  yet  instantly  Captain  The- 
odorus  Bailey,  the  second  in  command,  demanded 
from  the  admiral  the  right  to  undertake  this  dan- 
gerous mission.  With  a  little  guard  of  twenty 
men  he  was  landed  on  the  levee  in  front  of  a 
howling  mob  which  crowded  the  river-front  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach.  They  offered  an  impene- 
trable line  through  which  no  man  could  pass. 
Captain  Bailey  drew  his  marines  up  in  line  and 
tried  to  reason  with  the  mob,  but  could  not  even 
be  heard.  He  then  ordered  his  men  to  level  their 
muskets  and  take  aim.  In  an  instant  the  mob 
had  pushed  forward  to  the  front  crowds  of  women 
and  children  and  dared  the  Yanks  to  shoot.  Cap- 
tain Bailey  realized  that  nothing  could  be  done  by 
force  without  a  useless  slaughter  of  men  and 
women  and  children.  In  order  to  save  this  he 
decided  to  try  what  could  be  done  by  two  un- 
armed men.  If  this  plan  failed,  it  would  be  time 
enough  to  try  what  could  be  done  by  grape  and 
canister.  Taking  a  flag  of  truce  and  choosing  as 
his  companion  a  young  midshipman  named  Read, 


46     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

whom  he  knew  to  be  a  man  of  singular  coolness, 
Captain  Bailey  started  up  the  street  to  the  City 
Hall.  It  was  a  desperate  chance.  The  mob  had 
already  tasted  blood  and  it  was  almost  certain 
that  some  one  would  shoot  or  stab  these  two  rep- 
resentatives of  the  hated  Yanks  as  soon  as  they 
were  out  of  sight  of  the  ships.  The  slightest  sign 
of  fear  or  hesitation  would  mean  the  death  of  both 
of  them.  Captain  Bailey  and  Midshipman  Read, 
however,  were  men  who  would  take  just  such  a 
chance.  Slowly,  unconcernedly,  they  walked  along 
the  streets  through  a  roar  of  shouts,  and  curses, 
and  cheers  for  Jeff  Davis.  As  they  reached  the 
middle  of  the  city,  the  crowd  became  more  and 
more  threatening.  They  were  pushed  and  jostled 
while  men,  many  of  them  members  of  the  dreaded 
Thugs,  thrust  cocked  revolvers  into  their  faces  and 
waved  bowie-knives  close  to  their  throats.  Others 
rushed  up  with  coils  of  rope  which  had  already 
done  dreadful  service.  Captain  Bailey  never  even 
glanced  at  the  men  around  him,  but  looking 
straight  ahead  walked  on  as  unconcernedly  as  if 
he  were  treading  his  own  quarter-deck.  Young 
Read  acted  as  if  he  were  bored  with  the  whole 
proceeding.     He   examined   carefully  the  brand- 


Captain  Bailey  and  Midshipman  Read  Facing  the  New  Orleans  Mob 


TWO  AGAINST  A  CITY  47 

ished  revolvers  and  knives  and  smiled  pleasantly 
into  the  distorted,  scowling,  gnashing-  faces  which 
were  thrust  up  against  his.  Occasionally  he 
would  half  pause  to  examine  some  building 
which  seemed  to  impress  him  as  particularly  in- 
teresting and  would  then  saunter  unconcernedly 
along  after  his  captain. 

Right  on  through  the  gauntlet  of  death  passed 
the  two  men  with  never  a  quiver  of  the  eye  or  a 
motion  of  the  face  to  show  that  they  even  knew 
the  mob  was  there.  Little  by  little,  men  who  had 
retained  something  of  their  self-control  began  to 
persuade  the  more  lawless  part  of  the  rabble  to 
fall  back.  It  was  whispered  around  that  Farra- 
gut,  that  old  man  of  iron  and  fire,  had  said  that 
he  would  level  the  city  as  flat  as  the  river  if  a  hand 
were  even  laid  on  his  envoys.  Finally  through 
the  surging  streets  appeared  the  City  Hall  and 
the  end  of  that  desperate  march  was  in  sight.  At 
the  very  steps  of  the  City  Hall  the  mob  took  a 
last  stand.  Half-a-dozen  howling  young  ruffians, 
with  cocked  revolvers  in  either  hand,  stood  on 
the  lower  step  and  dared  the  Union  messen- 
gers to  go  an  inch  farther.  Midshipman  Read 
stepped  smilingly  ahead  of  his  captain  and  gently 


48     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

pushed  with  either  hand  two  of  the  cursing  young 
desperadoes  far  enough  to  one  side  to  allow  for  a 
passageway  between  them.  Both  of  them  actu- 
ally placed  the  muzzles  of  their  cocked  revolvers 
against  his  neck  as  a  last  threat,  but  even  the 
touch  of  cold  steel  did  not  drive  away  Read's 
amused  smile.  The  mob  gave  up.  Evidently 
these  men  had  resources  about  which  they  knew 
nothing. 

"  They  were  so  sure  that  we  wouldn't  kill  them 
that  we  couldn't,"  said  one  of  the  Thugs  after- 
ward in  explaining  why  the  hated  messengers 
had  been  allowed  to  march  up  the  steps. 

They  sauntered  into  the  mayer's  room  where 
they  met  a  group  of  white-faced,  trembling  men 
who  were  the  mayor  and  his  council.  Captain 
Bailey  delivered  the  admiral's  summons  for  the 
surrender  of  the  city  to  the  mayor.  The  mob, 
which  at  first  had  stayed  back,  at  this  point 
surged  up  to  the  windows  and  shouted  curses 
and  threats  into  the  very  mayor's  room,  threat- 
ening him  and  the  council  if  they  dared  to  sur- 
render the  city.  Captain  Bailey  and  his  com- 
panion gave  the  trembling  city  officials  a  few 
minutes  in  which  to  make  up  their  minds.     Sud- 


TWO  AGAINST  A  CITY  49 

denly  there  was  heard  a  roar  outside  louder  than 
any  which  had  come  before.  The  mob  had  torn 
down  the  Union  flag  which  had  been  hoisted 
over  the  custom  house  and  rushing  to  the 
mayor's  office,  tore  it  to  pieces  outside  the  open 
windows  and  threw  the  fragments  in  at  the  seated 
envoys.  This  insult  to  their  flag  aroused  Captain 
Bailey  and  young  Read  as  no  threats  against 
them  personally  had  been  able  to  do.  Turning 
to  the  mayor  and  the  shrinking  council,  Bailey 
said,  "As  there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  the  man 
who  tore  down  that  Union  flag  shall  hang  for  it." 
Later  on  this  promise  was  carried  out  by  the  in- 
flexible General  Butler  when  he  took  over  the 
city  from  Admiral  Farragut  and  hanged  Mum- 
ford,  the  man  who  tore  down  the  flag  in  the  city 
square,  before  the  very  mob  which  had  so  vio- 
lently applauded  his  action.  This  incident  was 
the  last  straw  for  the  mayor  and  his  associates. 
They  neither  dared  to  refuse  to  surrender  the  city 
lest  it  should  be  bombarded  by  Farragut  nor  did 
they  dare  to  surrender  it  for  fear  of  the  mob 
which  had  gathered  around  them  with  signifi- 
cant coils  of  rope  over  their  arms.  In  a  half- 
whisper    they   hurriedly  notified    Captain    Bailey 


50  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

that  they  could  not  surrender  the  city,  but  that 
they  would  make  no  resistance  if  the  Union  forces 
occupied  it.  Looking  at  them  contemptuously, 
Captain  Bailey  turned  away,  picked  up  the  frag- 
ments of  the  torn  flag  and  faced  the  mob  outside 
threateningly.  The  man  who  had  torn  the  flag 
slunk  back  and  his  example  was  contagious. 
One  by  one  men  commenced  to  sneak  away  and 
in  a  minute  the  City  Hall  was  deserted  and  Cap- 
tain Bailey  and  Midshipman  Read  were  able  to 
leave  the  building  and  drive  back  to  the  vessels 
in  a  carriage  obtained  for  them  by  the  mayor's 
secretary. 

So  ended  what  one  of  the  mob,  who  afterward 
became  a  valued  citizen  of  his  state,  described  as 
the  bravest  deed  he  had  ever  seen — two  unarmed 
men  facing  and  defeating  a  mob  of  murderers 
and  madmen. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Boy  Heroes 


CHAPTER  IV 

BOY  HEROES 

One  doesn't  have  to  be  big,  or  old,  or  strong 
to  be  brave.  But  one  does  have  to  believe  in 
something  so  much  and  so  hard  that  nothing  else 
counts,  even  death.  An  idea  that  is  so  big  that 
everything  else  seems  small  is  called  an  ideal. 
It  is  easy  for  a  boy  with  an  ideal  to  be  brave. 
Cassabianca,  the  boy  who  stayed  on  the  burning 
ship  because  he  had  been  ordered  to  wait  there 
by  his  dead  father,  had  made  obedience  his  ideal. 
The  boy  of  Holland  who  found  a  leak  in  the  dyke 
which  could  only  be  stopped  by  his  hand,  and 
who  stayed  through  the  long  night  and  saved  his 
village  but  lost  his  right  hand  had  learned  this 
great  ideal  of  self-sacrifice.  The  shepherd  boy 
who  saved  his  sheep  from  a  lion  and  a  bear  and 
who  afterward  was  the  only  one  who  dared  enter 
the  fatal  valley  and  meet  the  fierce  giant-warrior 
had  as  his  ideal  faith.  He  believed  so  strongly 
that  he  was  doing  God's  will  that  he  shared  God's 
strength. 


54  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

In  the  great  war  between  slavery  and  freedom 
which  swept  like  fire  over  the  country,  boys 
learned  the  ideals  for  which  their  fathers  fought. 
They  learned  to  believe  so  entirely  in  freedom  that 
there  was  no  room  left  for  fear.  Many  of  them 
went  to  the  war  as  drummer  boys,  the  only  way 
in  which  boys  could  enlist.  One  of  these  was 
Johnny  McLaughlin  of  the  Tenth  Indiana.  Johnny 
lived  at  a  place  called  Lafayette  and  was  not  quite 
eleven  years  old.  From  the  minute  that  the  war 
broke  out  he  thought  of  nothing  but  what  he 
could  do  for  his  country  and  for  freedom.  Other 
boys  played  at  drilling  and  marching,  but  this 
was  not  enough  for  him.  He  made  inquiries  and 
found  that  if  he  could  learn  to  drum,  there  was  a 
chance  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  enlist.  He 
said  nothing  at  first  to  his  father  and  mother  about 
his  plans,  but  saved  all  his  spending-money  and 
worked  every  holiday  in  order  to  get  enough  to 
buy  a  drum.  Times  were  hard,  however.  There 
was  little  money  for  men,  much  less  for  boys,  and 
after  Johnny  had  worked  for  over  two  months,  he 
had  saved  exactly  two  dollars.  In  the  village  was 
a  drummer  who  had  been  sent  home  to  recover 
from  his  wounds  and  to  him  Johnny  went  one  day 


BOY  HEROES  55 

to  ask  how  much  more  he  would  have  to  save 
before  he  could  buy  a  drum.  The  man  told  him 
that  a  good  drum  would  cost  him  at  least  ten 
dollars.  Johnny  sighed  and  turned  away  very 
much  discouraged. 

"  Why  don't  you  play  something  else  ?  "  said  the 
man.  "You  can  get  more  fun  out  of  ten  dollars 
than  buying  a  drum  with  it." 

" 1  don't  want  it  to  play  with,"  said  Johnny.  "  I 
want  to  learn  to  drum  so  that  I  can  enlist." 

At  first  the  man  laughed  at  the  boy — he  seemed  so 
little,  but  when  he  found  that  Johnny  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  do  his  share  for  his  country  in  the  great 
fight,  Donaldson,  as  he  was  named,  became  serious. 

"  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do,"  he  said  at  last.  "  If 
you  are  really  in  earnest  about  learning  to  drum, 
I'll  give  you  lessons  myself,  for,"  said  he  modestly, 
"  I  was  the  best  drummer  in  my  regiment.  If  you 
can  learn  and  they  will  take  you,  I'll  give  you  the 
old  drum.  I'll  send  it  to  the  front  even  if  I  can't 
go  myself." 

This  was  enough  for  Johnny.  Morning,  noon 
and  night  he  was  with  his  friend  Donaldson  and 
it  was  a  wonder  that  the  drum-head  was  not  worn 
out  long  before  he  learned.     Learn  he  did,  how- 


56    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

ever,  and  in  a  few  months  there  was  not  a  roll  or 
a  call  which  he  could  not  play.  One  morning  as 
the  school-bell  was  ringing,  Johnny  presented 
himself  to  his  parents  with  the  big  drum  around 
his  neck  looking  nearly  as  large  as  he  was. 

"  I'm  going  to  enlist,"  he  said  simply. 

At  first  his  father  and  mother,  like  Donaldson, 
were  inclined  to  laugh  at  him,  he  was  such  a  little 
boy,  but  Johnny  was  in  earnest  and  a  boy  who  is 
in  earnest  always  gets  what  he  wants.  A  few 
days  later  found  him  a  drummer  for  the  Tenth 
Indiana  and  as  he  led  the  regiment,  beating  the 
long  roll,  Johnny  was  the  proudest  boy  that  had 
ever  come  out  of  Indiana.  He  had  his  first  taste 
of  fire  at  Fort  Donelson  and  afterward  at  the 
bloody  battle  of  Shiloh.  Johnny  drummed  until 
the  terrible  drumming  of  the  muskets  drowned 
out  even  his  loud  notes.  Then  he  laid  down  his 
sticks,  carefully  hid  his  drum,  took  a  musket  and 
cartridge  box  from  off  one  of  the  dead  soldiers 
and  ran  on  with  his  regiment  and  fought  in  the 
front  with  the  bravest  of  them  all.  He  had  a 
quick  eye  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  could 
shoot  as  accurately  as  any  man  there. 

It  was  just  after  Shiloh  that  Johnny  had  a  nar- 


BOY  HEROES  57 


row  escape  from  being  captured.  Wanting  to  try 
everything,  he  obtained  permission  to  do  picket 
duty  at  night  although  this  work  was  not  required 
of  drummer  boys.  As  he  had  shown  himself  such 
a  cool  and  ready  fighter,  his  colonel  felt  that  he 
was  entirely  able  to  do  this  duty  and  one  dark 
night  put  him  on  picket.  His  post  was  some  dis- 
tance away  from  the  camp.  Just  at  dawn  he  was 
suddenly  rushed  by  a  party  of  rebel  cavalry.  As 
they  burst  out  of  the  bushes  Johnny  fired  his 
carbine  at  the  first  one,  dropping  him,  and  ran 
across  an  open  field  about  fifty  yards  wide.  At 
the  other  side  was  an  old,  rotten,  log  fence  and 
beyond  that  a  mass  of  briers  and  underbrush 
where  he  was  sure  the  horses  could  not  follow. 
Fortunately  for  him  the  rains  had  made  the  field  a 
mass  of  mud.  There  his  lightness  give  him  the 
advantage,  for  the  horses  slumped  through  at 
every  step.  The  rebels  fired  constantly  at  him  as 
they  rode  with  their  pistols.  One  ball  went 
through  his  hat,  another  clear  through  his  car- 
tridge box  and  lodged  in  his  coat,  fortunately 
without  exploding  any  of  the  cartridges.  Beyond 
the  middle  of  the  field  the  ground  was  drier  and 
the  horsemen  commenced  to  gain  on  him,  but  he 


58    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

reached  the  fence  well  ahead  and  with  one  jump 
landed  on  the  top.  The  rotten  rails  gave  way 
underneath  him  and  he  plunged  headlong  over 
into  the  brush,  right  on  the  back  of  a  big  sleeping 
wild  pig  who  had  rooted  out  a  lair  at  this  place. 
The  pig  jumped  up  grunting  and  crashed  through 
the  underbrush  and  Johnny  heard  his  pursuers 
smashing  through  the  broken  fence  not  a  rod 
away.  He  curled  up  into  the  round  hole  which 
the  pig  had  left,  drew  down  the  bushes  over  his 
head  and  lay  perfectly  quiet.  The  horsemen, 
hearing  the  rustling  of  leaves  and  the  smashing  of 
branches  as  the  pig  dashed  off  down  a  pathway, 
followed  after  at  full  gallop  and  were  out  of  sight 
in  a  minute.  As  soon  as  the  sound  of  their  gal- 
loping had  died  away,  Johnny  crawled  cautiously 
out  of  his  hole  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  back 
to  camp.  The  next  day  some  of  the  rebel  cavalry 
were  taken  prisoners  and  Johnny  recognized  one 
of  them  as  the  leader  of  the  squad  which  had  so 
nearly  caught  him.  The  prisoner  recognized  the 
boy  at  the  same  time  and  they  both  grinned  cheer- 
fully at  each  other. 

"  Did  you  catch  that  pig  yesterday  ?  "  finally  said 
Johnny. 


BOY  HEROES  59 

"  We  did  that,"  retorted  the  prisoner,  "  but  it 
wasn't  the  one  we  were  after." 

Johnny  had  always  been  able  to  ride  the  most 
spirited  horses  on  the  farm  and  after  Shiloh  he 
asked  to  be  transferred  from  the  infantry  to  Colo- 
nel Jacob's  Kentucky  Cavalry.  There  he  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  colonel  so  that  the  latter  gave 
him  one  of  the  best  horses  in  the  regiment  and  a 
place  in  the  Fighting  First,  as  the  best-mounted 
company  was  called,  which  the  colonel  always 
led  personally  in  every  charge.  In  this  company 
Johnny  was  taught  how  to  handle  a  sabre.  The 
regular  sabre  was  too  heavy  for  him,  but  Colonel 
Jacob  had  one  light,  short  one  specially  made 
which  Johnny  learned  to  handle  like  a  flash.  A 
German  sergeant,  who  had  been  a  great  fencer  on 
the  Continent,  taught  him  all  that  he  knew  and 
before  long  Johnny  was  an  expert  in  tricks  of  fence 
which  stood  him  in  good  stead  later  on.  One 
in  special  he  so  perfected  that  it  was  never  parried. 
Instead  of  striking  down  with  the  sabre  as  is  gen- 
erally done,  Johnny  learned  a  whirling,  flashing 
upper-cut  which  came  so  rapidly  that  generally  an 
opponent  could  not  even  see  much  less  parry  it. 
He  was  also  armed  with  the  regulation  revolver 


60    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

and  a  light  carbine  instead  of  the  heavy  revolving 
rifle  used  by  the  rest  of  the  troop.  At  Perry ville 
he  fought  his  first  battle  with  his  new  regiment. 
In  the  charge  he  stuck  close  to  Colonel  Jacob  and 
received  a  ball  through  his  left  leg  above  the  knee. 
Fortunately  it  did  not  break  any  bone  and  Johnny 
tore  a  strip  off  his  shirt,  bandaged  the  hole  and 
went  on  with  the  fight.  While  he  was  doing  this, 
the  greater  part  of  the  regiment  passed  on  and 
when  Johnny  started  to  join  his  colonel,  he  could 
not  find  him.  He  rode  like  the  wind  over  the  field 
and  soon  behind  a  little  patch  of  woods  saw  Colo- 
nel Jacobs  with  only  six  or  seven  men,  the  rest 
having  been  scattered  in  the  fight.  Johnny 
spurred  his  horse  over  to  him  and  the  colonel  was 
delighted  to  be  joined  by  his  little  body-guard. 
As  they  were  riding  along  to  rejoin  the  rest  of  the 
regiment,  from  out  a  clump  of  bushes  a  squad  of 
fifty  men  led  by  a  Confederate  major  dashed  out 
calling  on  them  to  surrender.  Colonel  Jacob  hes- 
itated, for  some  of  his  men  were  wounded  and  the 
odds  seemed  too  great  for  a  fight.  Before  he  had 
time  to  answer,  Johnny  slipped  in  front  of  him, 
drew  out  his  revolver  and  fired  directly  into  the 
Confederate  officer's  face,  killing  him  instantly  and 


BOY  HEROES  61 

then  drawing  his  sabre  dashed  into  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy.  The  first  man  he  met  was  a  big  fellow 
whose  bare,  brawny  arm  and  blood-stained  sabre 
proved  him  a  master  with  his  weapon.  Johnny 
never  gave  him  a  chance  to  strike.  At  the  whirl 
of  his  light  sabre  his  opponent  instinctively  raised 
his  weapon  in  the  ordinary  parry  of  a  down-blow 
and  the  point  of  Johnny's  sabre  caught  him  under 
the  chin  and  toppled  him  off  his  horse.  The 
Union  men  gave  a  cheer,  followed  their  little 
leader,  breaking  clear  through  the  demoralized 
Confederates  and  joined  their  command  at  the 
other  side  of  the  field. 

A  few  weeks  later  they  had  a  skirmish  with  the 
troop  of  John  Morgan,  the  most  dreaded  cavalry 
leader  and  fighter  in  all  the  South.  Johnny,  as 
usual,  was  in  the  front  of  the  charge  and  had  just 
cut  at  one  man  when  another  aimed  a  tremendous 
blow  at  his  head  in  passing.  There  was  just  time 
for  Johnny  to  raise  the  pommel  of  his  sabre  to  save 
his  head,  but  the  deflected  blow  caught  him  on  the 
leg  and  he  fell  from  the  horse  with  blood  spurting 
out  of  his  other  leg  this  time.  He  lay  perfectly 
quiet,  but  another  rebel  had  seen  him  fall  and 
spurring  forward,  caught  him  by  the  collar,  saying  : 


62     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"We'll  keep  this  little  Yankee  in  a  cage  to 
show  the  children." 

Johnny  did  not  approve  of  this  cage-idea  and 
although  there  was  no  room  to  use  the  sabre, 
managed  to  work  his  left  hand  back  into  his  belt, 
draw  his  revolver  and  shoot  his  captor  dead.  In 
another  minute  his  company  came  riding  back 
and  he  was  whirled  up  behind  his  colonel  and 
rode  back  of  him  to  safety.  This  last  wound 
proved  to  be  a  serious  one  and  he  was  sent  back  to 
Indiana  on  a  furlough  to  give  it  time  to  heal.  On 
the  way  back  he  was  stopped  by  a  provost  guard 
and  asked  for  his  pass. 

"  My  colonel  forgot  to  give  me  any  passes," 
said  Johnny,  "  but  here  are  two  that  the  rebels 
gave  me,"  showing  his  bandaged  legs,  and  the 
guard  agreed  with  him  that  this  was  pass  enough 
for  any  one.  As  his  wound  refused  to  heal,  against 
his  wishes  he  was  discharged  and  once  more  re- 
turned home.  He  then  tried  to  enlist  again,  but 
each  time  he  was  turned  down  because  of  the  un- 
healed wound.  Finally,  Johnny  traveled  clear  to 
Washington  and  had  a  personal  talk  with  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  and  explained  to  him  that  his  wound 
would  never  heal  except  in  active  service.     His 


BOY  HEROES  63 

arguments  had  such  force  with  the  President  that 
a  special  order  was  made  for  his  enlistment  and 
he  fought  through  the  whole  war  and  afterward 
joined  the  regular  army. 

The  littlest  hero  of  the  war  was  Eddie  Lee. 
Shortly  before  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  one 
of  the  Iowa  regiments  was  ordered  to  join  General 
Lyon  in  his  march  to  the  creek.  The  drummer 
of  one  of  the  companies  was  taken  sick  and 
had  to  go  to  the  hospital.  The  day  before  the 
regiment  was  to  march  a  negro  came  to  the  camp 
and  told  the  captain  that  he  knew  of  a  drummer 
who  would  like  to  enlist.  The  captain  told  him 
to  bring  the  boy  in  the  next  morning  and  if  he 
could  drum  well  he  would  give  him  a  chance. 
The  next  day  during  the  beating  of  the  reveille, 
a  woman  in  deep  mourning  came  in  leading  by 
the  hand  a  little  chap  about  as  big  as  a  penny 
and  apparently  not  more  than  five  or  six  years 
old.  She  inquired  for  the  captain  and  when  the 
latter  came  out,  told  him  that  she  had  brought 
him  a  drummer  boy. 

"  Drummer  boy,"  said  the  captain ;  "  why, 
madam,   we   don't   take   them   as   small  as  this, 


64    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

That  boy  hasn't  been  out  of  the  cradle  many 
months." 

"  He  has  been  out  long  enough,"  spoke  up  the 
boy,  "  to  play  any  tune  you  want." 

His  mother  then  told  the  captain  that  she  was 
from  East  Tennessee  where  her  husband  had  been 
killed  by  the  rebels  and  all  her  property  destroyed 
and  she  must  find  a  place  for  the  boy. 

"Well,  well,"  said  the  captain,  impatiently, 
"  Sergeant,  bring  the  drum  and  order  our  fifer  to 
come  forward." 

In  a  few  moments  the  drum  was  produced  and 
the  fifer,  a  tall,  good-natured  fellow  over  six  feet 
in  height,  made  his  appearance. 

"  Here's  your  new  side-partner,  Bill,"  said  the 
captain. 

Bill  stooped  down,  and  down  and  down  until 
his  hands  rested  on  his  ankles  and  peered  into  the 
boy's  face  carefully. 

"  Why,  captain,"  said  he,  "  he  ain't  much  taller 
than  the  drum. 

"  Little  man,  can  you  really  drum  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  boy.  "  I  used  to  drum  for 
Captain  Hill  in  Tennessee.  I  am  nearly  ten  years 
old  and  I  want  the  place." 


BOY  HEROES  65 

The  fifer  straightened  himself  up  slowly,  placed 
his  fife  at  his  mouth  and  commenced  to  play 
"The  Flowers  of  the  Forest,"  one  of  the  most 
difficult  pieces  to  follow  on  the  drum.  The  little 
chap  accompanied  him  without  a  mistake  and 
when  he  had  finished  began  a  perfect  fusillade  of 
rolls  and  calls  and  rallies  which  came  so  fast  that 
they  sounded  like  a  volley  of  musketry.  When 
the  noise  had  finally  died  out,  the  captain  turned 
to  his  mother  and  said  : 

"Madam,  I'll  take  that  boy.  He  isn't  much 
bigger  than  a  minute  but  he  certainly  can  drum." 

The  woman  kissed  the  boy  and  nearly  broke 
down. 

"  You'll  surely  bring  him  back  to  me,  captain," 
she  said. 

"Sure,"  said  the  captain  ;  "  we'll  all  be  discharged 
in  about  six  weeks." 

An  hour  later  Eddie  was  marching  at  the  head 
of  the  Iowa  First  playing  "  The  Girl  I  Left  Behind 
Me  "  as  it  had  never  been  played  before.  He  and 
Bill,  the  fifer,  became  great  chums  and  Eddie  was 
the  favorite  of  the  whole  regiment.  Whenever 
anything  especially  nice  was  brought  back  by  the 
foraging  parties,  Eddie  always  had  his  share  and 


66     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

the  captain  said  that  he  was  in  far  more  danger 
from  watermelons  than  he  was  from  bullets.  On 
heavy  marches  the  fifer  would  carry  him  on  his 
back,  drum  and  all,  and  this  was  always  Eddie's 
position  in  fording  the  numerous  streams. 

At  the  Battle  of  Wilson's  Creek  the  Iowa  regi- 
ment and  a  part  of  an  Illinois  regiment  were 
ordered  to  clear  out  a  flanking  party  concealed  in 
a  ravine  upon  the  left  of  the  Union  forces.  The 
ravine  was  a  deep,  long  one  with  high  trees  and 
heavy  underbrush  and  dark  even  at  noontime. 
The  Union  regiments  marched  down  and  there 
was  a  dreadful  hand-to-hand  fight  in  the  brush  in 
the  semi-twilight.  Men  became  separated  from 
each  other  and  as  in  the  great  battle  between 
David  and  Absalom,  the  wood  devoured  more 
people  that  day  than  the  sword  devoured.  The 
fight  was  going  against  the  Union  men  when  sud- 
denly a  Union  battery  wheeled  into  line  on  a 
near-by  hill  and  poured  a  rain  of  grape  and  canis- 
ter into  the  Confederates  which  drove  them  out  in 
short  order.  Later  on  the  word  was  passed 
through  the  Union  Army  that  General  Lyon  had 
been  killed  and  soon  after  came  the  order  to  fall 
back  upon  Springfield.     The  Iowa  regiment  and 


BOY  HEROES  67 

two  companies  of  a  Missouri  regiment  were  or- 
dered to  camp  on  the  battle-field  and  act  as  a  rear 
guard  to  cover  a  retreat.  When  the  men  came 
together  that  night  there  was  no  drummer  boy. 
In  the  hurry  and  rush  of  hand-to-hand  fight- 
ing, Eddie  had  become  separated  from  Bill  and 
although  the  latter  raged  back  and  forth  through 
the  brush  like  an  angry  bull,  never  a  trace  of  his 
little  comrade  could  he  find.  That  night  the  sen- 
tries stood  guard  over  the  abandoned  field  and 
along  the  edge  of  the  dark  ravine  now  filled  with 
the  dead  of  both  sides.  It  was  a  wild,  desolate 
country  and  as  the  men  passed  back  and  forth 
over  the  stricken  field,  they  could  hear  the  long, 
mournful,  wailing  howl  of  the  wolves  which  were 
brought  by  the  smell  of  blood  from  the  wilder- 
ness to  the  battle-field  from  miles  around.  That 
night  poor  Bill  was  unable  to  sleep  and  moaned 
and  tossed  on  his  blanket  and  said  for  the  thou- 
sandth time  : 

"  If  only  I  had  kept  closer  to  the  little  chap." 

Suddenly  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  roused  the 
sleeping  men  all  around  him. 

"  Don't  you  hear  a  drum?  "  said  he. 

They  all  listened  sadly,  but  could  hear  nothing. 


68     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  Lie  down,  Bill,"  said  one  of  them.  "  Eddie's 
gone.     We  all  did  the  best  we  could." 

"  He's  down  there  in  the  dark,"  cried  poor  Bill, 
"  drumming  for  help,  and  I  must  go  to  him." 

The  others  tried  to  hold  him  back  for  it  was 
impossible  to  see  a  foot  through  the  tangled  ravine 
at  night  and  moreover  the  orders  were  strict 
against  any  one  leaving  camp.  Bill  went  to  the 
sentry  who  guarded  the  captain's  tent  and  finally 
persuaded  the  man  to  wake  up  the  captain.  The 
latter  lay  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  sorrow, 
but  came  out  and  listened  as  did  all  the  rest  for 
the  drum,  but  nothing  could  be  heard. 

"  You  imagined  it,  my  poor  fellow,"  he  said. 
"  There's  nothing  you  could  do  to-night  anyway. 
Wait  until  morning." 

Bill  paced  restlessly  up  and  down  all  through 
that  dark  night  and  just  as  the  dawn-light  came  in 
the  sky,  he  heard  again  faint  and  far  away  a  drum 
beating  the  morning  call  from  out  of  the  silence  of 
the  deep  ravine.     Again  he  went  to  the  captain. 

"  Of  course  you  can  go,"  said  the  latter,  kindly, 
"  but  you  must  be  back  as  soon  as  possible  for  we 
march  at  daybreak.  Look  out  for  yourself  as  the 
place  is  full  of  bushwhackers  and  rebel  scouts." 


BOY  HEROES  69 


Bill  started  down  the  hill  through  the  thick  under- 
brush and  wandered  around  for  a  time  trying  to 
locate  the  drum-beats  which  were  thrown  back  by 
the  trees  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  determine  from 
what  point  they  came.  As  he  crept  along  through 
the  underbrush,  they  sounded  louder  and  louder 
and  finally  in  the  darkest,  deepest  part  of  the 
ravine,  he  came  out  from  behind  a  great  pin-oak 
and  saw  his  little  comrade  sitting  on  the  ground 
leaning  against  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree  and  beating 
his  drum  which  was  hung  on  a  bush  in  front  of  him. 

"  Eddie,  Eddie,  dear  old  Eddie,"  shouted  Bill, 
bursting  through  the  thicket.  At  the  sound  the 
little  chap  dropped  his  drumsticks  and  exclaimed  : 

"  Oh,  Bill,  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you.  I  knew 
you  would  come.     Do  get  me  a  drink." 

Bill  started  to  take  his  canteen  down  to  a  little 
near-by  brook  when  Eddie  called  him  back. 

"You'll  come  back,  Bill,  won't  you,"  he  said, 
"  for  I  can't  walk." 

Bill  looked  down  and  saw  that  both  of  his  feet 
had  been  shot  away  by  a  cannon-ball  and  that  the 
little  fellow  was  sitting  in  a  pool  of  his  own  blood. 
Choking  back  his  sobs,  the  big  fifer  crawled  down 
to  the  brook  and  soon  came  back  with  his  canteen 


7o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

full  of  cold  water  which  Eddie  emptied  again  and 
again. 

"  You  don't  think  I  am  going  to  die,  do  you, 
Bill?  "  said  the  little  boy  at  last.  "  I  do  so  want  to 
finish  out  my  time  and  go  back  to  mother.  This 
man  said  I  would  not  and  that  the  surgeon  would 
be  able  to  cure  me." 

For  the  first  time  Bill  noticed  that  just  at 
Eddie's  feet  lay  a  dead  Confederate.  He  had 
been  shot  through  the  stomach  and  had  fallen 
near  where  Eddie  lay.  Realizing  that  he  could 
not  live  and  seeing  the  condition  of  the  boy,  he 
had  crawled  up  to  him  and  taking  off  his  buck- 
skin suspenders  had  bandaged  with  them  the  little 
fellow's  legs  so  that  he  would  not  bleed  to  death 
and  on  tying  the  last  knot  had  fallen  back  dead 
himself.  Eddie  had  just  finished  telling  Bill  all 
about  it  in  a  whisper,  for  his  strength  was  going 
fast,  when  there  was  a  trampling  of  horses  through 
the  ravine  and  in  a  minute  a  Confederate  scouting 
party  broke  through  the  brush,  calling  upon  Bill 
to  surrender. 

"  I'll  do  anything  you  want,"  said  Bill,  "  if  you 
will  only  take  my  little  pal  here  safe  back  to 
camp  and  get  him  into  the  hands  of  a  surgeon." 


BOY  HEROES  71 


The  Confederate  captain  stooped  down  and 
spoke  gently  to  the  boy  and  in  a  minute  took  him 
up  and  mounted  him  in  front  of  him  on  his  own 
horse  and  they  rode  carefully  back  to  the  Con- 
federate camp,  but  when  they  reached  the  tents  of 
the  nearest  Confederate  company  they  found  that 
little  Eddie  had  served  out  his  time  and  had  given 
his  life  for  his  country. 

On  June  30,  1862,  was  fought  the  stubborn 
battle  of  Glendale,  one  of  the  Seven  Days'  Battles 
between  McClellan,  the  general  of  the  Union 
forces,  and  Lee,  the  Confederate  commander. 
This  battle  was  part  of  McClellan's  campaign 
against  Richmond,  the  capital  of  the  Confeder- 
acy which  he  had  within  his  grasp  when  he 
was  out-generaled  by  Lee,  who  that  month  for 
the  first  time  had  been  placed  in  supreme  com- 
mand of  the  Confederate  Army.  With  him  were 
his  two  great  generals,  Stonewall  Jackson  and 
Longstreet.  McClellan  was  within  sight  of  the 
promised  land.  The  spires  of  Richmond  showed 
against  the  sky.  Instead  of  fighting  he  hesitated 
and  procrastinated  away  every  chance  of  victory. 
Lee    was    even    then   planning    that    wonderful 


72     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

strategy  which  was  to  halt  a  victorious  army,  turn 
it  away  from  the  beleaguered  capital  of  the  Con- 
federacy and  send  it  stumbling  back  North  in  a 
series  of  defeats.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to 
have  a  conference  with  Stonewall  Jackson,  his 
great  fighting  right-hand  in  military  matters. 
Jackson  rode  almost  alone  fifty  miles  and  attended 
a  conference  with  Lee,  Longstreet  and  Generals 
D.  H.  and  A.  P.  Hill.  To  each  of  them  General 
Lee  assigned  the  part  that  he  was  to  play.  In 
the  meantime,  knowing  that  McClellan  always 
read  and  pondered  the  Richmond  papers,  he 
arranged  that  simultaneously  every  paper  should 
publish  as  news  the  pretended  facts  that  strong 
reinforcements  had  been  sent  to  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  McClellan  fell  into  the  trap  and  instead 
of  pressing  forward  to  attack  Richmond,  which 
was  now  only  guarded  by  a  small  force,  he,  as 
usual,  waited  for  reinforcements  and  allowed  his 
antagonists  to  march  around  him  and  start  flank- 
ing battles  which  threatened  to  cut  off  his  line  of 
communications.  The  battle  of  Gaines  Mill  was 
fought  in  which  battle  General  Fitz  John  Porter 
with  thirty-one  thousand  men  stubbornly  faced 
Lee   and   Jackson's   forces   of  fifty-five  thousand 


BOY  HEROES  73 


and  with  sullen  obstinacy  only  retreated  when  it 
was  absolutely  impossible  longer  to  hold  his 
ground.  This  defeat,  which  occurred  simply  be- 
cause McClellan  could  not  bring  himself  to  send 
Porter  the  necessary  reinforcements,  made  Gen- 
eral McClellan  resolve  to  withdraw,  although 
even  then,  with  a  superior  army,  he  could  have 
fought  his  way  to  Richmond.  From  June  25th  to 
July  1,  1862,  occurred  the  Seven  Days'  Battles 
fought  by  the  retreating  Union  Army.  By  one  of 
the  few  mistakes  which  General  Lee  made  in  that 
campaign,  the  Union  Army  was  allowed  a  respite 
of  twenty-four  hours  to  organize  its  retreat  and 
were  well  on  their  way  before  pursuit  was  given. 
On  June  29th  there  was  a  battle  between  the  rear 
guard  of  the  Union  force  and  the  Confederate's 
under  General  Magruder  in  which  the  Confed- 
erates were  defeated.  The  next  day  came  the 
battle  of  Glendale.  Generals  Longstreet  and  A.  P. 
Hill  commanded  the  Confederate  Army  while  the 
rear  guard  of  the  retreating  Union  forces  was 
made  up  of  General  McCall's  division  and  that  of 
General  Heintzelman  and  a  part  of  the  corps 
under  General  Sumner  which  had  done  such 
gallant  fighting  the  day  before.     It  was  a  stern 


74     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

and  stubborn  battle.  If  the  Confederates  could 
cut  through  the  rear  guard,  they  would  have  the 
retreating  army  at  their  mercy.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  they  could  be  held  back,  the  main  army 
would  have  time  to  occupy  a  favorable  position 
and  entrench  and  could  be  saved.  For  a  time  it 
seemed  as  if  the  Confederate  attack  could  not 
be  checked.  Every  available  man  was  called  into 
action.  Back  at  the  rear  were  posted  the  hospital 
corps  where  the  sick  and  wounded  lay.  With 
them  were  stationed  the  band  and  the  drum-corps 
made  up  of  drummer  boys  who  were  supposed 
to  keep  out  of  actual  righting  as  much  as  possible. 
Among  them  was  a  little  Jewish  boy  named 
Benjamin  Levy,  who  was  only  sixteen  years  old 
and  small  for  his  age.  Benjamin  stayed  back 
with  the  hospital  while  the  roar  of  the  battle  grew 
louder  and  louder.  Finally  there  was  a  tremen- 
dous chorus  of  yells  and  groans  and  shouts 
mingled  with  the  rattle  of  rifle-shots  and  the 
heavy  thudding  sounds  which  sabres  and  bayo- 
nets make  as  they  slash  and  pierce  living  flesh. 
Little  groups  of  wounded  men  came  straggling 
back  or  were  carried  back  to  the  hospital  and 
each   one  told  a  fresh  story  of  the  fierce  fight 


BOY  HEROES  75 

which  was  going  on  at  the  near-by  front.  Ben- 
jamin could  stand  it  no  longer.  The  last  wounded 
man  that  came  in  hobbled  along  with  a  broken 
leg,  using  his  rifle  for  a  crutch.  The  boy  helped 
him  to  a  near-by  cot  and  made  him  as  comfortable 
as  he  could. 

"  Now  you  lie  quiet,"  he  said,  "  until  the  doctor 
comes  and  I'll  just  borrow  this  rifle  of  yours  and 
do  a  little  fighting  in  your  place,"  and  Benjamin 
picked  up  the  gun  and  slipped  on  the  other's 
cartridge  belt. 

"  Hi  there,  you  come  back  with  my  gun,"  yelled 
the  wounded  man  after  him.  "  That  front's  no 
place  for  kids  like  you." 

Benjamin,  however,  was  well  on  his  way  before 
the  man  had  finished  speaking  and  slipping  past 
an  indignant  doctor  who  was  trying  to  stop  him, 
he  ran  forward,  keeping  as  much  as  possible  in 
the  shelter  of  the  trees  among  which  the  bullets 
and  grape-shot  were  whining  and  humming.  He 
passed  many  wounded  limping  to  the  rear  and 
rows  of  prostrate  men,  some  still,  some  writhing 
in  the  agony  of  their  wounds.  These  were  the 
men  who  had  fallen  on  their  way  back  to  the 
hospital.     A  minute  later  Benjamin  found  himself 


76    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

in  the  thick  of  the  fight.  There  had  been  a  Con- 
federate charge  which  the  Union  soldiers  had  just 
barely  been  able  to  drive  back.  The  men  were 
still  panting  and  shouting  and  firing  volleys  at  the 
gray  forces  who  were  reluctantly  withdrawing  to 
rally  for  another  attack.  The  boy  lay  down  with 
the  rest  and  loaded  and  fired  his  borrowed  rifle  as 
rapidly  as  he  could.  No  one  seemed  to  notice 
him  except  the  color-bearer  who  happened  to  be 
the  man  next  to  him.  He  had  stopped  firing  to 
wipe  his  face  and  saw  the  little  fellow  close  by  his 
arm. 

"  Why  don't  you  get  back  to  the  rear  where 
you  belong?"  he  said,  pretending  to  talk  very 
fiercely.  "  This  is  no  place  for  little  boys.  When 
those  gray-backs  come  back,  you'll  scamper  quick 
enough,  so  you  had  better  be  on  your  way  now." 

"  No  I  won't,"  said  Benjamin  positively.  "  I 
guess  boys  have  got  as  much  right  to  fight  in  this 
war  as  men  have.  Anyway,  you  won't  see  me  do 
much  running." 

Benjamin  was  mistaken  in  that  last  statement, 
for  a  minute  later  the  colonel  of  this  particular 
regiment  decided  that  instead  of  waiting  for  a 
Confederate  attack,  he  would  do  a  little  charging 


BOY  HEROES  77 

on  his  own  account.  The  signal  came.  The  men 
sprang  over  the  earthworks  and  Benjamin  found 
himself  running  neck  and  neck  with  the  color- 
bearer  at  the  head  of  them  all.  It  was  a  glorious 
charge.  The  ground  ahead  was  smooth,  the 
fierce  flag  of  the  regiment  streamed  just  in  front 
and  all  around  were  men  panting  and  cheering  as 
they  ran.  It  was  almost  like  a  race  on  the  old 
school-green  at  home.  They  came  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  masses  of  gray-clothed  men  who 
were  hurriedly  arranging  themselves  in  regular 
ranks  out  of  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  their 
retreat.  When  they  were  only  a  short  hundred 
yards  distant,  suddenly  a  wavering  line  of  fire  and 
smoke  ran  all  up  and  down  the  straggling  line 
in  front  of  them.  Men  plunged  headlong  here 
and  there  and  Benjamin  noticed  that  he  and 
the  color-bearer  seemed  to  have  drawn  away 
from  the  rest  and  were  racing  almost  alone.  Sud- 
denly his  friend  with  the  colors  stopped  in  full 
stride,  swung  the  flag  over  his  head  once  with  a 
shout  and  dropped  backward  with  a  bullet  through 
his  heart.  As  he  fell  the  colors  slowly  dropped 
down  through  the  air  and  were  about  to  settle  on 
the   blood-stained   grass    when   the   boy,    hardly 


78     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

knowing  what  he  did,  shifted  his  rifle  to  his  left 
hand,  caught  the  staff  of  the  flag  and  once  more 
the  colors  of  the  regiment  were  leading  the  men 
on.  Right  up  to  the  gray  line  he  carried  them, 
followed  by  the  whole  regiment.  Firing,  cutting 
and  stabbing  with  their  bayonets  they  broke 
straight  through  the  Confederates  and  after  a 
hand-to-hand  fight,  drove  them  out  of  their  posi- 
tion. They  carried  the  boy,  still  clinging  to  the 
colors,  on  their  shoulders  to  their  colonel  and  to 
the  end  of  his  life  Benjamin  remembered  the 
moment  when  the  colonel  shook  hands  with  him 
before  the  cheering  regiment  as  the  climax  of  the 
greatest  day  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  V 
The  Charge  of  Zagonyi 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI 

In  battle  the  charge  is  the  climax.  In  other 
kinds  of  fighting  men  have  a  certain  amount  of 
shelter  and  respite  and  at  long  range  it  makes 
little  difference  whether  the  fighter  is  strong  or 
weak.  In  a  charge,  however,  the  fighting  is  hand 
to  hand.  As  in  the  days  of  old,  men  fight  at  close 
grips  with  their  enemy  and  each  one  must  depend 
upon  his  own  strength  and  skill  and  bravery. 

There  have  been  three  charges  in  modern 
battles  which  have  been  celebrated  over  and  over 
again.  The  first  of  these  was  the  last  desperate 
charge  of  the  Old  Guard  at  Waterloo.  A  thin 
red  line  of  English  held  a  hill  which  Napoleon,  the 
greatest  of  modern  generals,  saw  was  the  keystone 
of  the  battle.  If  that  could  be  taken,  the  whole  arch 
of  the  English  and  Belgium  forces  would  crumble 
away  into  defeat.  Again  and  again  the  French 
stormed  at  this  hill  and  each  time  were  driven  back 


82     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

by  the  coolly- waiting  deadly  ranks  of  the  English. 
Toward  nightfall  Napoleon  made  one  last  des- 
perate effort.  The  Old  Guard  was  to  him  what 
the  great  Tenth  Legion  had  been  to  Julius  Caesar, 
the  best  and  bravest  veterans  of  his  army  who 
boasted  that  they  had  never  yet  been  defeated. 
Calling  them  up  with  every  last  one  of  his  re- 
serves, he  ordered  a  final  desperate  charge  to 
break  the  battle  center.  To  the  grim  drumming 
of  what  guns  the  little  general  had  left,  they 
rushed  again  up  that  blood-stained  slope  in  des- 
perate dark  masses  of  unbeaten  men.  With  a 
storm  of  cheers,  the  columns  surged  up  in  a  vast 
blue  battle-wave  which  seemed  as  if  it  must  dash 
off  by  its  weight  the  little  group  of  silent,  grim 
defenders.  The  Englishmen  waited  and  waited 
and  waited  until  the  rushing  ranks  were  almost 
on  them.  Then  they  poured  in  a  volley  at  such 
close  range  that  every  bullet  did  the  work  of  two 
and  with  a  deep  English  cheer  sprang  on  the 
broken  ranks  with  their  favorite  weapon,  the 
bayonet.  That  great  battle- wave  broke  in  a 
foam  of  shattered,  dying  and  defeated  men  and 
the  sunset  of  that  day  was  the  sunset  of  Napo- 
leon's glory. 


THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI  83 

Fifty  years  later  in  the  great  war  which  Eng- 
land with  her  allies  was  waging  to  keep  the  vast, 
fierce  hordes  of  Russia  from  ruling  Europe,  hap- 
pened another  glorious,  useless  charge.  Owing 
to  a  misunderstanding  of  orders,  a  little  squad  of 
six  hundred  cavalrymen  charged  down  a  mile-long 
valley  flanked  on  all  sides  by  Russian  artillery 
against  a  battery  of  guns  whose  fire  faced  them  all 
the  way.  Every  schoolboy  who  has  ever  spoken 
a  piece  on  Friday  afternoon  knows  what  comes 
next.  How  the  gallant  Six  Hundred,  stormed  at 
with  shot  and  shell,  made  the  charge  to  the  won- 
der and  admiration  of  three  watching  armies  and 
how  they  forced  their  way  into  the  jaws  of  death 
and  into  the  mouth  of  hell  and  sabred  the  gunners 
and  then  rode  back — all  that  was  left  of  them. 

In  our  own  Civil  War  occurred  the  most  famous 
charge  of  modern  days,  Pickett's  charge  at  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg.  For  three  days  raged  the 
first  battle  which  the  Confederates  had  been  able 
to  fight  on  Northern  soil.  If  their  great  General 
Lee,  with  his  seventy  thousand  veterans,  won  this 
battle,  Washington,  Philadelphia  and  even  New 
York  were  at  his  mercy.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
third  day  he   made   one  last  desperate  effort  to 


84     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

break  the  center  of  the  Union  forces.  Pickett's 
division  of  the  Virginia  infantry  was  the  center  of 
the  attacking  forces  and  the  column  numbered 
altogether  over  fifteen  thousand  men.  For  two 
hours  Lee  cannonaded  the  Union  center  with  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  guns.  He  was  answered  by 
the  Union  artillery  although  they  could  only 
muster  eighty  guns.  Finally  the  Union  fire  was 
stopped  in  order  that  the  guns  might  cool  for 
Hunt,  the  Union  chief  of  artillery,  realized  that 
the  cannonade  was  started  to  mask  some  last 
great  attack.  Suddenly  three  lines,  each  over  a 
mile  long,  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Alabama, 
Georgia  and  Tennessee  regiments  started  to 
cover  the  mile  and  a  half  which  separated  them 
from  the  Union  center.  The  Union  crest  was 
held  by  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  who  were 
posted  back  of  the  stone  wall  on  the  very  summit. 
As  the  gray  lines  rushed  over  the  distance  with  a 
score  of  fierce  battle  flags  flaming  and  fluttering 
over  their  ranks,  the  eighty  guns  which  had 
cooled  so  that  they  could  now  be  used  with  good 
effect  opened  up  on  them  first  with  solid  shot  and 
then  with  the  tremendous  explosive  shells.  As 
they    charged,    the    Virginia    regiments    moved 


THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI  85 

away  to  the  left  leaving  a  gap  between  them 
and  the  men  from  Alabama  on  the  right.  The 
Union  leaders  took  advantage  of  this  gap  and 
forced  in  there  the  Vermont  brigade  and  a  half 
brigade  of  New  York  men.  By  suddenly  chang- 
ing front  these  men  were  enabled  to  attack  the 
charging  thousands  on  their  flank.  The  Union 
guns  did  terrible  execution,  opening  up  great 
gaps  through  the  running,  leaping,  shouting 
men.  As  the  charge  came  nearer  and  nearer  the 
batteries  changed  to  the  more  terrible  grape  and 
canister  which  cut  the  men  down  like  grass  before 
a  reaper.  Still  they  came  on  until  they  were  face 
to  face  with  the  waiting  Union  soldiers  who 
poured  in  a  volley  at  short  range.  For  a  mo- 
ment the  battle  flags  of  the  foremost  Confederate 
regiments  stood  on  the  crest.  The  effort  had 
been  too  much.  Over  half  of  the  men  had  been 
killed  or  wounded  and  many  others  had  turned 
to  meet  the  flank  attack  of  the  Vermont  and  New 
York  regiments  so  that  when  the  Pennsylvania 
troops  met  them  at  last  with  the  bayonet,  the 
gray  line  wavered,  broke,  and  the  North  was 
saved. 

All   three   of  these  great  charges  were  brave, 


86    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

glorious  failures.  This  is  the  story  of  a  charge,  an 
almost  forgotten  charge,  just  as  brave,  just  as 
glorious,  which  succeeded,  a  charge  in  which  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men  and  boys  broke  and 
routed  a  force  of  over  two  thousand  entrenched 
infantry  and  cavalry. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  the  Union  commanders  was  John  C. 
Fremont,  the  Pathfinder.  He  had  opened  up  the 
far  West  and  had  made  known  to  the  people  the 
true  greatness  of  the  country  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi. At  the  birth  of  the  Republican  or  Free- 
Soil  Party,  he  was  the  first  candidate.  The  coun- 
try rang  with  a  campaign  song  sung  to  the  tune 
of  the  Marseillaise,  the  chorus  of  which  was : 

tf  March  on,  march  on,  ye  braves, 
And  let  your  war  cry  be, 
Free  soil,  free  press,  free  votes,  free  men, 
Fremont  and  victory." 

He  was  one  of  the  first  generals  appointed. 
Among  those  whom  the  fascination  of  his  romantic 
and  adventurous  life  had  attracted  to  his  side  was 
a  Hungarian  refugee  named  Zagonyi.  In  his  boy- 
hood he  had  fought  in  the  desperate  but  unsuc- 
cessful war  which  Hungary  made  to  free  herself 


THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI  87 

from  the  Austrian  yoke.  He  served  in  the  Hun- 
garian cavalry  ;  and  in  a  desperate  charge  upon 
the  Austrians,  in  which  half  the  force  were  killed, 
Zagonyi  was  wounded  and  captured  and  for  two 
years  was  a  prisoner.  He  was  finally  released  on 
condition  that  he  leave  his  country  forever.  As 
an  experienced  soldier,  he  was  welcomed  by  Gen- 
eral Fremont  and  was  authorized  to  raise  a  com- 
pany to  be  known  as  Fremont's  Body-Guard.  In 
a  few  days  two  full  companies,  composed  mostly 
of  very  young  men,  had  been  enrolled.  A  little 
later  another  company  composed  entirely  of  Ken- 
tucky boys  was  included  in  the  guards.  They 
were  all  magnificently  mounted  on  picked  horses 
and  very  handsomely  uniformed.  Because  of 
their  outfit  and  name  they  soon  excited  the  envy 
of  the  other  parts  of  the  army  who  used  to  call 
them  the  "  kid-glove  brigade."  Although  well- 
trained  and  enthusiastic,  they  had  no  active  serv- 
ice until  October,  1861,  when  Zagonyi,  who  had 
been  appointed  their  major,  was  ordered  to  take 
one  hundred  and  sixty  of  his  men  and  explore  the 
country  around  Springfield,  Missouri,  through 
which  the  main  army  was  intending  to  advance. 
There  were  rumors  that  a  Confederate  force  was 


88     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

approaching  to  take  possession  of  the  city  of 
Springfield  and  the  body-guard  marched  seventeen 
hours  without  stopping  in  order  to  occupy  this 
town  before  the  enemy  should  arrive.  As  they 
came  within  two  miles  of  Springfield,  however, 
they  were  met  by  a  farmer  who  informed  them 
that  the  Confederates  had  beaten  them  in  the  race 
to  Springfield  and  were  already  in  camp  on  a  hill 
about  half  a  mile  west  of  the  town.  Their  rear 
was  protected  by  a  grove  of  trees  and  there  was  a 
deep  brook  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  only  way 
to  approach  them  was  through  a  blind  lane  which 
ran  into  fences  and  ploughed  fields.  This  was 
covered  by  sharpshooters  and  infantry  while  four 
hundred  Confederate  horsemen  were  posted  on 
the  flank  of  the  main  body  of  infantry  which 
guarded  the  top  of  the  hill.  Altogether  the  force 
numbered  over  two  thousand  men.  It  seemed  an 
absolutely  hopeless  undertaking  for  a  little  body 
of  tired  boys  to  attack  twenty  times  their  own 
number.  Zagonyi,  however,  had  been  used  to 
fighting  against  odds  in  his  battles  with  the  Aus- 
trians.  He  hurriedly  called  his  men  together  and 
announced  to  them  that  he  did  not  intend  to  go 
back  without  a  fight  after  riding  so  far. 


THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI  89 

"  If  any  of  you  men,"  he  said,  "  are  too  tired  or 
too  weak,  or  too  afraid,  go  back  now  before  it  is 
too  late.  There  is  one  thing  about  it,"  he  added 
grimly,  "  if  there  are  any  of  us  left  when  we  are 
through  we  won't  hear  much  more  about  kid 
gloves." 

Not  a  man  stirred  to  go  back.  Zagonyi  gath- 
ered them  into  open  order  and  drawing  his  sabre 
gave  the  word  to  start  up  the  fatal  lane.  At  first 
there  was  no  sight  or  sound  of  any  enemy,  but  as 
the  horses  broke  into  a  run,  there  was  a  volley 
from  the  woods  and  a  number  of  men  swayed  in 
their  saddles  and  sank  to  the  ground.  Down  the 
steep,  stony  lane  they  rushed  in  a  solid  column  in 
spite  of  volley  after  volley  which  poured  into  their 
ranks.  Some  leaped,  others  crashed  through 
fences  and  across  the  ploughed  fields  and  jumped 
the  brook  and  finally  gained  the  shelter  of  the  foot 
of  the  hill.  There  was  a  constant  whistle  of  bul- 
lets and  scream  of  minie  balls  over  their  heads. 
They  stopped  for  a  minute  to  re-form,  for  nearly 
half  the  squad  was  down.  Zagonyi  detached 
thirty  of  his  best  horsemen  and  instructed  them 
to  charge  up  the  hill  at  the  Confederate  cavalry 
which,   four   hundred  strong,  were  posted  along 


90    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  to  hold  them  engaged 
so  that  the  rest  of  the  force  could  make  a  front 
attack  on  the  infantry.  The  rest  of  the  troop 
watched  the  little  band  gallop  up  the  hillside  and 
they  were  fully  half-way  up  before  it  dawned  upon 
the  Confederates  that  these  thirty  men  were  really 
intending  to  attack  a  force  over  ten  times  their 
number.  As  they  swept  up  the  last  slope,  the 
Confederate  cavalry  poured  a  volley  from  their 
revolvers  instead  of  getting  the  jump  on  them  by 
a  down-hill  charge. 

Lieutenant  Mathenyi,  another  Hungarian  and 
an  accomplished  swordsman,  led  the  attack  and 
cut  his  way  through  the  first  line  of  the  Confed- 
erate horsemen,  closely  followed  by  the  score  of 
men  who  had  managed  to  get  up  the  hill.  With 
their  sabres  flashing  over  their  heads,  they  disap- 
peared in  the  gray  cloud  of  Confederates  which 
awaited  them.  At  that  moment  Zagonyi  gave 
the  word  for  the  main  charge  and  his  column 
opened  out  and  rushed  up  the  hill  from  all  sides 
like  a  whirlwind.  Even  as  they  breasted  the  slope 
they  saw  the  solid  mass  of  Confederate  cavalry 
open  out  and  scatter  in  every  direction  while  a 
blue  wedge  of  men  cut  clear  through  and  turned 


THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI  91 

back  to  sabre  the  scattering  Confederates.  With 
a  tremendous  cheer,  Zagonyi  and  the  rest  of  the 
band  rushed  on  to  the  massed  infantry.      -   > 

They  had  time  for  only  one  volley  when  the 
young  horsemen  were  among  them,  cutting, 
thrusting,  hacking  and  shooting  with  their  re- 
volvers. In  a  minute  the  main  body  followed  the 
example  of  the  cavalry  and  broke  and  scattered 
everywhere.  Some  of  them,  however,  were  real 
fighters ;  they  retreated  into  the  woods  and  kept 
up  a  murderous  fire  from  behind  trees.  One  young 
Union  soldier  dashed  in  after  them  to  drive  them 
out,  but  was  caught  under  the  shoulders  by  a 
grape-vine  and  swept  off  his  horse  and  hung 
struggling  in  the  air  until  rescued  by  his  com- 
rades. Down  into  the  village  swarmed  the  fugi- 
tives with  the  guards  close  at  their  heels.  At  a 
great  barn  just  outside  of  the  village  a  number  of 
them  rallied  and  drove  back  the  Kentucky  squad 
which  had  been  pursuing  them.  This  time  Za- 
gonyi himself  dashed  up,  and  shouting,  "  Come  on, 
old  Kentuck,  I'm  with  you,"  rushed  at  the  group 
which  stood  in  the  doorway.  As  he  came  on,  a 
man  sprang  out  from  behind  the  door  and  leveled 
his   rifle   at   Zagonyi' s  head.     The  latter  spurred 


92     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

his  horse  until  he  reared,  and  swinging  him 
around  on  his  hind  legs,  cut  his  opponent  clear 
through  the  neck  and  shoulders  with  such  tre- 
mendous force  that  the  blood  spurted  clear  up  to 
the  top  of  the  door. 

Another  hero  of  the  fight  was  Sergeant  Hunter, 
the  drill-master  of  the  squad.  It  had  always  been 
an  open  question  with  the  men  as  to  whether  he 
or  Major  Zagonyi  was  the  better  swordsman.  In 
this  fight  Hunter  killed  five  men  with  his  sabre, 
one  after  the  other,  showing  off  fatal  tricks  of  fence 
against  bayonet  and  sabre  as  coolly  as  if  giving  a 
lesson,  while  several  men  fell  before  his  revolver. 
His  last  encounter  was  with  a  Southern  lieutenant 
who  had  been  flying  by,  but  suddenly  turned  and 
fought  desperately.  The  sergeant  had  lost  three 
horses  and  was  now  mounted  on  his  fourth, 
a  riderless,  unmanageable  horse  which  he  had 
caught,  and  was  somewhat  at  a  disadvantage. 
In  spite  of  this  he  proceeded  to  give  those  of  his 
squad  who  were  near  him  a  lecture  on  the  fine 
points  of  the  sabre. 

"  Always  parry  in  secant,"  said  he,  suiting  his 
action  to  the  word,  "  because,"  he  went  on,  slash- 
ing  his   opponent  across  the  thigh,   "a  regular 


THE  CHARGE  OF  ZAGONYI  93 

fencer  like  this  Confed  is  liable  to  leave  himself 
open.  It  is  easy  then  to  ride  on  two  paces  and 
catch  him  with  a  back-hand  sweep,"  and  at  the 
words  he  dealt  his  opponent  a  last  fatal  blow 
across  the  side  of  the  head  which  toppled  him  out 
of  his  saddle. 

A  young  Southern  officer  magnificently  mounted 
refused  to  follow  the  fugitives,  but  charged  alone 
at  the  line  of  the  guards.  He  passed  clear  through 
without  being  touched,  killing  one  man  as  he  went. 
Instantly  he  wheeled,  charged  back  and  again 
broke  through,  leaving  another  Union  cavalryman 
dead.  A  third  time  he  cut  his  way  clear  up  to 
Zagonyi's  side  and  suddenly  dropping  his  sabre, 
placed  a  revolver  against  the  major's  breast  and 
fired.  Zagonyi,  however,  was  like  lightning  in 
his  movements.  The  instant  he  felt  the  pressure 
of  the  revolver  he  swerved  so  that  the  bullet  passed 
through  his  tunic,  and  shortening  his  sabre  he  ran 
his  opponent  through  the  throat  killing  him  before 
he  had  time  to  shoot  again. 

Holding  his  dripping  sabre  in  his  hand,  the 
major  shouted  an  order  to  his  men  to  come  to- 
gether in  the  middle  of  the  town.  One  of  the  first 
to  come  back  was  his  bugler,  whom  Zagonyi  had 


94    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

ordered  to  sound  a  signal  in  the  fiercest  part  of 
the  fight.  The  bugler  had  apparently  paid  no  at- 
tention to  him,  but  darted  off  with  Lieutenant  Ma- 
thenyi's  squad  and  was  seen  pursuing  the  flying 
horsemen  vigorously.  When  his  men  were  gath- 
ered together,  Major  Zagonyi  ordered  him  to  step 
out  and  said : 

"  In  the  middle  of  the  battle  you  disobeyed  my 
order  to  sound  the  recall.  It  might  have  meant 
the  loss  of  our  whole  company.  You  are  not 
worthy  to  be  a  member  of  this  guard  and  I  dismiss 
you." 

The  bugler  was  a  little  Frenchman  and  he  nearly 
exploded  with  indignation. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  me,  you  shall  not  dismiss,"  and 
he  showed  his  bugle  to  his  major  with  the  mouth- 
piece carried  away  by  a  stray  bullet.  "  The  mouth 
was  shoot  off,"  he  said.  "  I  could  not  bugle  wiz 
my  bugle  and  so  I  bugle  wiz  my  pistol  and  sabre." 

The  major  recalled  the  order  of  dismissal. 

So  ended  one  of  the  most  desperate  charges  of 
the  Civil  War.  One  hundred  and  forty-eight  men 
had  defeated  twenty-two  hundred,  with  the  loss  of 
fifty-three  killed  and  more  than  thirty  wounded. 


CHAPTER  VI 
The  Locomotive  Chase 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE 

COURAGE  does  not  depend  upon  success.  Some- 
times it  takes  a  braver  man  to  lose  than  to  win.  A 
man  may  meet  defeat  and  even  death  in  doing  his 
duty,  but  if  he  has  not  flinched  or  given  up,  he  has 
not  failed.  A  brave  deed  is  never  wasted  whether 
men  live  or  die. 

In  the  spring  of  1862,  James  J.  Andrews  and  a 
little  band  of  nineteen  other  men  staked  their  lives 
and  liberty  for  the  freedom  of  Tennessee  and  al- 
though they  lost,  the  story  of  their  courage  helped 
other  men  to  be  brave. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  the  eastern 
part  of  Tennessee  was  held  by  the  Confederates 
although  the  mountaineers  were  for  the  most  part 
Union  men.  The  city  of  Chattanooga  was  the 
key  to  that  part  of  the  state  and  was  held  by  the 
Confederates.  A  railroad  line  into  that  city  ran 
through  Georgia  and  was  occupied  by  the  South- 
ern army.    If  that  could  be  destroyed,  Chattanooga 


98     BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

could  be  cut  off  from  reinforcements  and  cap- 
tured by  the  small  body  of  Union  troops  which 
could  be  risked  for  that  purpose.  This  road  was 
guarded  by  detachments  of  Confederate  troops 
and  extended  for  two  hundred  miles  through  Con- 
federate territory  and  it  seemed  as  if  it  could  not 
be  destroyed  by  any  force  less  than  an  army. 
There  was  no  army  that  could  be  spared. 

One  April  evening  a  stranger  came  to  the  tent 
of  General  O.  M.  Mitchel,  commander  of  the  Union 
forces  in  middle  Tennessee,  and  asked  to  see  the 
general.  The  sentry  refused  to  admit  him  unless 
he  stated  his  name  and  errand. 

"  Tell  the  general,"  said  the  man  quietly,  "  that 
James  J.  Andrews  wants  to  speak  to  him  on  a 
matter  of  great  importance." 

The  sentry  stared  at  him  for  there  were  few  in 
the  army  who  had  not  heard  of  Andrews,  the 
scout,  but  fewer  still  who  had  ever  seen  him.  No 
man  had  passed  through  the  enemy's  lines  so 
many  times,  knew  the  country  better  or  had  been 
sent  more  often  on  dangerous  errands.  In  a 
minute  he  was  ushered  in  to  where  General 
Mitchel  sat  writing  in  the  inner  tent.  With  his 
deep-set  gray  eyes  and  waving  hair  brushed  back 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  99 

from  his  broad,  smooth  forehead,  he  looked  more 
like  a  poet  than  a  fighter.  The  general  noticed, 
however,  that  his  eyes  never  flickered  and  that 
although  he  spoke  in  a  very  low  voice,  there  was 
something  about  him  that  at  once  commanded  at- 
tention.    Andrews  wasted  no  time. 

"  General  Mitchel,"  he  said,  "  if  you  will  let  me 
have  twenty-four  men,  I  will  capture  a  train,  burn 
the  bridges  on  the  Georgia  railroad  and  cut  off 
Chattanooga." 

"  It  can't  be  done,"  returned  General  Mitchel. 

"  Well,  general,"  answered  Andrews  slowly, 
"  don't  you  think  it's  worth  trying  ?  You  know 
I  generally  make  good  on  what  I  set  out  to  do. 
In  this  matter  if  we  lose,  we  lose  only  twenty-five 
men.  If  we  win,  we  take  Chattanooga  and  all 
Tennessee  without  a  battle." 

There  was  a  long  pause  while  the  general  stud- 
ied the  scout. 

"  You  shall  have  the  men,"  he  said  finally. 

Andrews  saluted  and  left  the  tent.  That  night 
twenty-four  men  from  three  regiments  were  told 
that  they  were  to  have  the  first  chance  to  volunteer 
for  secret  and  dangerous  service.  Not  a  man  chosen 
refused  to  serve.     The  next  evening  they  were  told 


ioo    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

to  meet  at  a  great  boulder  at  sunset  about  a  mile 
below  the  camp  and  wait  until  joined  by  their 
captain.  Each  man  was  furnished  with  the  camp 
countersign  as  well  as  a  special  watchword  by 
which  they  could  know  each  other.  One  by  one 
the  men  gathered  at  dusk,  recognized  each  other 
by  the  watchword  and  sat  down  in  the  brush  back 
of  the  boulder  to  wait.  Just  at  dark  there  was 
a  rustling  in  the  underbrush  at  the  other  side  of 
the  road  and  the  scout  stepped  out,  joined  them 
and  gave  the  countersign.  Without  a  word,  he 
moved  to  the  thick  bushes  at  one  corner  of  the 
boulder  and  pushing  them  aside  showed  a  tiny 
hidden  path  which  wound  through  the  brush. 
Into  this  he  stepped  and  beckoned  them  to  follow. 
The  path  twisted  back  and  forth  among  the  great 
stones  and  trees  and  through  patches  of  under- 
brush and  the  men  in  single  file  followed  Andrews. 
Finally  nearly  a  mile  from  the  road,  he  led  them 
down  into  a  dense  thicket  in  a  little  ravine.  There 
the  brush  had  been  cut  out  so  as  to  make  a  kind 
of  room  in  the  thicket  about  ten  feet  square. 
When  they  were  all  inside,  the  scout  motioned 
them  to  sit  down  and  then  circled  around  through 
the  underbrush  and  doubled  back  on  his  track  so 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  101 

as  to  make  sure  that  they  had  not  been  followed 
by  any  spy.  Then  he  returned  and  lighted  a  small 
lantern  which  hung  to  one  of  the  saplings  and  for 
the  first  time  his  men  had  a  good  look  at  their 
captain.     As  usual,  Andrews  wasted  no  time. 

"  Boys,"  he  said  simply,  "  I  have  chosen  you  to 
come  with  me  and  capture  a  train  from  an  army 
and  then  run  it  two  hundred  miles  through  the 
enemy's  country.  We  will  have  to  pass  every 
train  we  meet  and  while  we  are  doing  this  we  must 
tear  up  a  lot  of  track  and  burn  down  two  bridges. 
There  is  every  chance  of  being  wrecked  or  shot 
and  if  we  are  captured,  we  will  be  hung  for  spies. 
It  is  a  desperate  chance  and  I  picked  you  fellows 
out  as  the  best  men  in  the  whole  army  to  take 
such  a  chance.  If  any  of  you  think  it  is  too 
dangerous,  now  is  the  time  to  stand  up  and  draw 
out." 

There  was  a  long  pause.  Each  man  tried  to 
see  what  his  companions  were  thinking  of  in  the 
dim  light. 

"  Well,  captain,"  at  last  drawled  a  long,  lank 
chap  with  a  comical  face,  who  had  the  reputation 
of  being  the  worst  daredevil  in  his  regiment,  "  I 
would  like  to  stand  up  for  you've  got  me  kind  of 


102    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

scared,  but  my  foot's  asleep  and  I  guess  I'll  have 
to  go  with  you." 

"  That's  the  way  I  feel,"  said  the  man  next  to 
him,  as  every  one  laughed,  and  the  same  answer 
went  all  around  the  circle. 

In  a  whisper  the  scout  then  outlined  his  plan. 
The  men  were  to  change  their  uniforms  and  put 
on  the  butternut-colored  clothes  of  the  South  and 
to  carry  no  arms  except  a  revolver  and  bowie- 
knife.  Then  they  were  to  cross  the  country  on 
foot  until  they  got  to  Chattanooga  and  were  then 
to  go  back  on  their  tracks  by  train  and  meet  at 
a  little  town  called  Marietta  in  the  middle  of 
Georgia.  No  one  would,  of  course,  suspect  men 
coming  out  of  a  Confederate  city  to  be  Union 
soldiers.  If  questioned  they  were  to  say  that  they 
were  Kentuckians  on  their  way  to  join  the  South- 
ern army.  At  Marietta  they  were  to  take  rooms 
at  the  Marietta  Hotel  and  meet  at  the  scout's 
room  on  the  following  Saturday  morning  at  two 
o'clock. 

Disguised  as  a  quinine  seller,  Andrews  reached 
Marietta  ahead  of  the  others.  At  the  time  ap- 
pointed, he  sat  fully  dressed  in  the  silent  hotel 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his  little  company  and 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  103 

wondering  how  many  would  appear.  Just  as  the 
town  clock  struck  the  hour  from  the  old-fashioned 
court  house,  there  came  a  light  tapping  at  the 
door  and  one  by  one  nineteen  of  the  twenty-four 
glided  in  and  reported  for  duty.  All  had  gone 
through  various  adventures  and  several  had  only 
escaped  capture  by  quick  thinking  and  cool  action. 
One  of  the  missing  ones  had  been  delayed  by  a 
wreck  and  did  not  reach  Marietta  in  time,  two 
others  were  forced  to  enlist  in  the  Southern  army, 
and  two  more  reached  Marietta  but  by  some  mis- 
take did  not  join  the  others.  The  twenty  who 
were  left,  however,  were  the  kind  of  men  whose 
courage  flares  highest  when  things  seem  most 
desperate  and  they  were  not  at  all  discouraged  by 
the  loss  of  a  fifth  of  their  force,  and  they  all  agreed 
with  Brown,  the  man  whose  foot  had  been  asleep, 
when  he  drawled  out  in  his  comical  way,  "  The 
fewer  fellows  the  more  fun  for  those  who  are  left." 
After  reporting,  they  went  back  to  their  rooms 
and  got  what  sleep  they  could.  At  daylight  they 
were  all  at  the  ticket  office  in  time  for  the  north- 
bound mail  train.  In  order  to  prevent  any 
suspicion,  each  man  bought  a  ticket  for  a  differ- 
ent   station   along   the   line   in   the   direction   of 


104    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Chattanooga.  Eight  miles  out  of  Marietta  was  a 
little  station  called  Big  Shanty  where  the  train  was 
scheduled  to  stop  twenty  minutes  for  breakfast. 
It  was  a  lonely  place  at  the  foot  of  Kenesaw 
Mountain  and  there  were  only  the  station,  a  freight- 
house,  a  restaurant  and  one  or  two  dwelling  houses. 
Andrews  had  planned  to  capture  the  train  there, 
believing  that  there  would  be  few,  if  any,  by- 
standers at  so  small  a  place  early  in  the  morning. 
As  the  train  came  around  the  curve  of  the  moun- 
tain, however,  the  scout  and  his  men,  who  were 
scattered  through  the  train,  were  horrified  to  see 
scores  of  tents  showing  white  through  the  morn- 
ing mist.  A  detachment  of  Confederate  soldiers 
was  in  camp  there  and  it  was  now  necessary  for 
the  little  squad  of  Union  soldiers  to  capture  the 
train  not  only  from  its  crew  and  passengers,  but 
under  the  very  eyes  of  a  regiment.  There  was  no 
flinching.  The  minute  the  train  stopped  there  was 
the  usual  wild  scramble  by  the  passengers  for 
breakfast  in  which  the  engineer,  fireman  and  con- 
ductor joined.  In  a  minute  the  engine  was  left 
entirely  unguarded.  In  those  days  engines  were 
named  like  steamboats,  and  this  one  had  been 
christened    "General."     Andrews    and    his   men 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  105 

loitered  behind.  In  his  squad  were  two  engineers 
and  a  fireman.  These  at  once  hurried  forward 
and  began  to  uncouple  the  engine  with  its  tender 
and  three  baggage-cars.  The  rest  of  the  party 
grouped  around,  playing  the  part  of  bystanders, 
but  with  their  hands  on  their  revolvers,  for  within 
a  dozen  feet  of  the  engine  stood  a  sentry  with  his 
loaded  musket  in  his  hand  watching  the  whole 
thing,  while  other  sentries  and  a  large  group  of 
soldiers  were  only  a  few  yards  farther  off.  The 
men  worked  desperately  at  the  coupling  and 
finally  succeeded  in  freeing  the  cars.  Then  the 
engineers  and  fireman  sprang  into  the  cab  of  the 
engine  while  Andrews  stood  with  his  hand  on  the 
rail  and  foot  on  the  step,  and  the  rest  of  the  band 
tumbled  into  the  baggage-cars.  This  was  the 
most  critical  moment  of  all,  for  although  the 
watching  soldiers  might  think  it  natural  to  change 
the  crew,  yet  their  suspicions  would  certainly  be 
aroused  at  the  sight  of  fifteen  men  climbing  into 
baggage-cars.  The  nearest  sentry  cocked  his 
musket  and  stepped  forward  to  investigate.  At 
this  moment  Brown  climbed  into  the  engine  along 
with  one  of  the  engineers,  coolly  smoking  a  cigar. 
Poking  his  head  out  of  the  window  he  called  back 


106    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

as  if  to  one  of  the  crew,  "  Tell  those  fellows  not  to 
eat  up  all  the  breakfast.  We'll  be  back  just  as 
soon  as  we  can  take  those  other  cars  on  at  the  sid- 
ing." All  this  time  Andrews  was  standing  with 
his  foot  on  the  step  watching  the  men  enter  the 
baggage-cars.  The  track  was  on  a  high  bank  and 
it  was  necessary  for  the  first  man  to  be  raised  up 
on  the  shoulders  of  two  others  in  order  to  open  the 
door.  Once  inside,  the  other  men  were  tossed  up 
to  him  and  he  pulled  them  in  like  bags  of  meal. 
Finally  there  were  only  two  left  and  these  jumped, 
caught  the  outstretched  hands  of  two  inside  and 
were  hauled  up  into  the  car.  Not  until  then  did 
Andrews  step  aboard  under  the  very  nose  of  the 
suspicious  sentry.  The  engineer  was  so  anxious 
to  start  that  he  pulled  the  throttle  wide  open  and 
for  a  few  seconds  the  wheels  spun  round  and  round 
without  catching  on  the  rails.  He  finally  slowed 
up  enough  to  allow  the  wheels  to  bite  and  the 
engine  started  off  with  a  jerk  which  took  all  the 
soldiers  in  the  baggage-cars  off  their  feet.  Just  at 
this  moment  the  fat  engineer  waddled  out  of  the 
eating-house  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
"  Stop,  thief !  Stop,  thief !  "  He  was  followed  by 
the  fireman  who  bellowed  to  the  sentry,  "  Shoot 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  107 

'em,  shoot  'em  !  They're  Yanks  !  "  It  was  too 
late.  The  General  was  taking  the  first  curve  on 
two  wheels,  leaving  the  quiet  little  station  swarm- 
ing and  buzzing  like  a  hornet's  nest  struck  by  a 
stone.  The  train  had  been  captured  without  los- 
ing a  man. 

Now  came  the  even  more  difficult  part  of  the 
undertaking,  to  run  the  engine  for  two  hundred 
miles  through  an  enemy's  country  and  to  force  it 
past  all  the  other  trains  between  Big  Shanty  and 
Chattanooga.  The  first  thing  to  do  was  to  pre- 
vent any  message  of  the  capture  being  sent  on 
ahead.  There  was  no  telegraph  station  at  Big 
Shanty,  but  there  was  no  telling  how  soon  word 
would  be  sent  back  to  the  nearest  telegraph  opera- 
tor. Accordingly,  four  miles  out  the  engine  was 
stopped  and  a  man  named  Scott,  who  had  been  a 
great  coon-hunter  before  entering  the  army, 
shinned  up  a  telegraph  pole  and  sawed  through 
the  wires.  While  he  was  doing  this,  the  rest 
of  the  party  took  up  one  of  the  rails  and  loaded 
it  into  a  baggage-car.  Others  piled  in  a  lot 
of  dry  railroad  ties  to  be  used  in  burning  the 
bridges.  The  General  was  an  old-style  engine 
the  like  of  which  is  never  seen  nowadays.     It  had 


108    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

one  of  the  round,  funny  smoke-stacks  which  we 
still  see  on  old  postage  stamps  and  it  burned  cord- 
wood  instead  of  coal,  but  it  was  a  good  goer  for 
those  times  and  was  soon  whirling  through  the 
enemy's  country  at  what  seemed  to  the  raiders  a 
tremendous  rate  of  speed.  Before  long  they  were 
compelled  to  stop  at  one  of  the  stations  to  take 
in  wood  and  water.  Andrews  explained  to  the 
station-agent  that  they  were  agents  of  General 
Beauregard  running  a  powder-train  down  to  the 
Confederate  headquarters  at  Corinth.  At  one 
station  named  Etowah,  they  found  an  old  locomo- 
tive belonging  to  a  local  iron  company  standing 
there  with  steam  up.  It  carried  the  name  of 
Jonah  and  so  far  as  the  raiders  were  concerned,  it 
certainly  lived  up  to  its  name.  Brown,  who  was 
acting  as  engineer,  wanted  to  stop  and  put  Jonah 
out  of  business,  but  Andrews  decided  to  push  on. 
It  was  a  fatal  mistake.  At  Kingston,  thirty  miles 
from  their  starting  place,  they  learned  that  the 
local  freight  coming  from  Chattanooga  was  about 
due,  so  Andrews  put  his  engine  over  on  the  siding 
and  waited.  After  a  long  delay,  the  freight  ar- 
rived, but  it  carried  on  its  caboose  a  red  flag  show- 
ing   that   another   train    was   behind.      Andrews 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  109 

stepped  up  to  the  conductor  and  indignantly  in- 
quired how  any  train  dared  delay  General  Beau- 
regard's special  powder-cars. 

"Well,  you  see,"  said  the  freight's  conductor, 
"  the  Yanks  have  captured  Huntsville  thirty  miles 
from  Chattanooga  and  special  trains  are  being  run 
to  get  everything  out." 

Andrews  realized  that  General  Mitchel  had 
started  against  Chattanooga  and  that  if  he  could 
burn  even  one  bridge,  the  capture  of  the  city  was 
certain.  Another  long  wait  and  the  special  freight 
came  in,  but  it  carried  another  fatal  red  flag.  It 
turned  out  that  it  was  so  large  that  it  was  being  run 
in  two  sections.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  wait. 
By  this  time  crowds  of  passengers  and  train-hands 
had  gathered  around  the  so-called  powder-train,  all 
curious  to  look  it  over.  The  four  men  in  the  engine 
sat  there  smoking,  seemingly  unconcerned.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  they  were  ready  any  mo- 
ment to  fight  for  their  lives.  If  any  of  the  crowd 
opened  the  baggage-cars  and  saw  the  other  men 
hidden  there,  no  amount  of  explanation  could  per- 
suade them  that  there  was  not  something  wrong. 
If  the  waiting  was  hard  on  the  men  in  the  engine, 
it  was  still  worse  for  the  men  crouched  back  in  the 


no  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

cars,  not  knowing  what  was  wrong  and  expecting 
to  hear  the  alarm  given  any  moment.  For  an 
hour  and  five  minutes  the  Union  train  was  kept  at 
Kingston.  At  last  a  whistle  was  heard  and  the 
long-expected  freight  passed  by  and  the  General 
was  again  on  its  way.  A  mile  out  from  Kings- 
ton the  coon-hunter  was  sent  up  another  telegraph 
pole  and  the  wires  again  cut.  The  rest  of  the 
party  were  leisurely  trying  to  loosen  another  rail 
with  the  poor  tools  which  they  had,  when  from  far 
in  the  rear  a  sound  was  heard  which  brought  the 
man  at  the  wires  down  with  a  run.  It  was  the 
whistle  of  an  engine  coming  their  direction  and 
meant  that  in  some  mysterious  way  the  enemy 
was  on  their  track. 

"  Pull,  you  men  !  "  shouted  Andrews.  "  They've 
got  word  somehow  and  they're  after  us." 

Again  the  whistle  sounded,  this  time  much 
nearer,  and  with  a  last  frantic  pull  the  rail  broke 
and  eight  men  tumbled  head  over  heels  down  an 
embankment.  They  were  up  in  a  minute  and 
scrambled  into  the  baggage-car  and  the  old  Gen- 
eral was  off  once  more  at  top  speed.  At  Adairs- 
ville,  the  next  station,  a  freight  and  passenger 
train  were  waiting  and  there  Andrews  heard  that 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  1 1 1 

another  express  was  due  from  Chattanooga  which 
had  not  yet  arrived.  There  was  no  time  to  wait 
now  that  the  pursuit  had  begun  and  the  old  Gen- 
eral was  pushed  at  full  speed  in  order  to  reach  the 
next  siding  before  meeting  the  express.  The  nine 
miles  between  stations  were  covered  in  as  many 
minutes,  Brown  and  the  fireman  heaping  on  the 
cord-wood  and  soaking  it  with  kerosene-oil  until 
the  fire-plate  was  red  hot.  They  reached  the  sta- 
tion just  in  time,  for  the  express  was  about  to  pull 
out  when  the  whistle  of  Andrews'  train  was  heard, 
and  it  backed  down  so  as  to  allow  the  "  powder- 
train"  to  take  the  side  track.  It  stopped,  how- 
ever, in  such  a  manner  as  to  completely  close  up 
the  other  end  of  the  switch.  The  engineer  and 
conductor  of  the  express  were  plainly  suspicious 
and  refused  to  move  their  train  until  Andrews  had 
answered  their  questions.  With  the  pursuing  en- 
gine on  his  track,  any  more  delay  would  be  fatal. 
Cocking  his  revolver,  Andrews  poked  it  into  the 
stomach  of  the  engineer. 

"  My  instructions  from  General  Beauregard," 
he  said,  "  are  to  rush  this  train  through  and  to 
shoot  any  one  that  tries  to  delay  it  and  I  am  go- 
ing to  begin  on  you." 


112    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

The  engineer  lost  all  further  desire  to  ask  ques- 
tions, climbed  into  his  cab  and  pulled  out.  The 
way  was  now  clear  to  Chattanooga.  Beyond  the 
next  station  Andrews  stopped  once  more  to  cut 
the  wires  and  to  try  to  take  up  a  section  of  the 
track,  when  right  behind  suddenly  sounded  the 
whistle  of  an  engine  like  the  scream  of  some  re- 
lentless bird  of  prey  that  could  not  be  turned  from 
its  pursuit.  Far  down  the  track  rushed  a  loco- 
motive crowded  with  soldiers  armed  with  rifles. 
Two  minutes  more  would  have  saved  the  day  for 
Andrews.  The  rail  bent,  but  did  not  break, 
although  the  men  tugged  at  it  frantically  until  the 
bullets  began  pattering  around  them.  There  was 
only  just  time  to  jump  aboard  and  the  General 
was  off  again  with  the  Confederate  engine  thun- 
dering close  behind. 

The  story  of  this  pursuer  is  the  story  of  two 
men  who  refused  to  give  up  and  who  won  out  by 
accepting  the  one  chance  in  a  thousand  which 
ordinary  men  would  let  go  by.  When  the  stolen 
train  whirled  off  at  Big  Shanty  there  were  two 
men  who  didn't  waste  any  time  in  shouting  or 
swearing.  They  were  Fuller,  the  conductor  of 
the  stolen  train,  and  Murphy,  the  foreman  of  the 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  113 

Atlanta  railway  machine  shops.  There  was  no 
telegraph  station  nor  any  locomotive  at  hand  in 
which  to  follow  the  runaways.  Apparently  it  was 
hopeless,  yet  out  of  all  the  crowd  of  civilians  and 
soldiers  who  rushed  around  and  asked  questions 
and  shouted  answers,  Fuller  and  Murphy  were 
the  only  two  who  took  the  long  chance  and  ran 
after  the  flying  train.  The  rest  of  the  crew  could 
not  help  laughing  to  see  two  men  chase  a  loco- 
motive on  foot.  But  Murphy  and  the  other  let 
them  laugh  and  ran  on.  Before  they  had  gone  a 
half  mile  they  found  a  hand-car  on  a  siding.  This 
they  lifted  over  to  the  main  track,  manned  the 
pump-bars  and  were  soon  flying  along  at  the  rate 
of  some  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  As  they  came  near 
Etowah  the  hand-car  suddenly  flew  off  the  track 
and  went  rolling  down  the  embankment.  It  had 
met  the  first  of  the  broken  rails.  The  two  men 
were  much  bruised  and  shaken  up,  but  no  bones 
were  broken  and  they  managed  to  hoist  the  hand- 
car back  on  to  the  rails  again  and  were  soon  on 
their  way,  this  time  keeping  a  lookout  for  any 
traps  ahead.  At  Etowah  they  found  old  "Jonah" 
puffing  on  the  siding,  the  engine  that  Brown  had 
advised  blowing  up.     It  was  at  once  pressed  into 


ii4    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

service,  loaded  with  soldiers  and  in  a  minute  was 
flying  toward  Kingston,  where  Andrews  had  his 
life-shortening  wait  of  over  an  hour.  Fuller  knew 
of  the  tangle  of  trains  at  that  point  and  told  his 
escort  to  get  their  muskets  ready  and  be  prepared 
for  a  fight,  but  Andrews  had  been  away  just  four 
minutes  when  the  pursuers  reached  the  station, 
and  Fuller  there  found  himself  stopped  by  three 
heavy  trains.  It  was  hopeless  to  wait  for  them  to 
move,  and  besides  old  Jonah  was  not  much  on 
speed.  Fuller  and  his  men  jumped  out,  ran 
through  to  the  farthest  train,  uncoupled  the  en- 
gine and  one  car,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  its 
crew,  filled  it  with  forty  armed  men  and  once 
more  started  after  the  flying  General. 

It  was  their  whistle  which  so  startled  Andrews 
and  his  men  when  they  were  breaking  the  second 
rail.  Fuller  and  Murphy  saw  what  they  had  done 
and  managed  to  reverse  the  engine  in  time  to  pre- 
vent a  wreck.  Again  at  this  point  ordinary  men 
would  have  given  up  the  chase  for  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  go  farther  in  that  engine  or  to  get  it  over 
the  broken  rail,  but  these  Confederates  were  not 
ordinary  men.  Leaving  their  escort  they  started 
down  the  track  again  on  foot  alone,  doggedly  and 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  115 

relentlessly  after  their  stolen  General.  Before  they 
had  gone  far  they  met  the  mixed  train  that  had 
told  Andrews  of  the  express.  They  signaled  so 
frantically  that  it  stopped  and  when  the  crew 
learned  that  the  so-called  "  powder-train  "  was  on 
its  way  to  destroy  the  great  bridges  which  formed 
the  backbone  of  their  railway,  they  consented  to 
turn  back.  So  uncoupling  the  locomotive  and  the 
tender  and  filling  them  with  armed  soldiers  and 
civilians  from  among  the  passengers,  Fuller  and 
Murphy  made  their  sixth  start.  On  foot,  by  hand- 
car, in  two  locomotives,  on  foot  again  and  now 
once  more  in  a  locomotive,  they  began  what  was 
to  be  the  last  lap  of  this  race  on  which  a  city  and 
a  state  depended. 

Beyond  Adairsville  the  Confederates  could  see 
far  ahead  in  the  distance  Andrews  and  his  men 
making  desperate  efforts  to  raise  the  rail.  With 
long  screams  from  her  whistle,  the  Confederate 
engine  fairly  leaped  over  the  tracks.  The  rail 
bent  slowly,  but  the  spikes  still  held.  Two 
minutes,  or  even  a  minute  more  would  break 
the  track  and  the  road  and  bridges  would  be 
defenseless  before  the  Union  raiders.  But  it  was 
not  to  be.     Andrews  and  his  men  tugged  at  the 


n6  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

stubborn  rail  until  the  pursuing  engine  was  so 
close  that  the  bullets  were  dropping  all  around 
them  and  then  sprang  into  the  engine  and  thun- 
dered off  again.  If  only  a  little  time  could  be 
gained  the  Union  men  could  burn  the  Oostinaula 
Bridge.  So  while  the  engine  was  running  at  a 
speed  of  nearly  a  mile  a  minute,  the  men  in  the 
last  car  crowded  into  the  next  and  the  last  car  was 
dropped  off  in  the  hope  that  it  would  block  the 
road  for  the  pursuer.  But  the  engine  behind 
pushed  it  ahead  until  the  next  station  was  reached 
where  it  could  be  switched  off  the  main  track. 
This  slowed  the  chaser's  speed,  however,  so  that 
the  General  was  able  to  take  on  wood  and  water 
and  also  to  cut  the  wires  beyond  the  station  so 
that  the  news  of  their  coming  would  not  be  tele- 
graphed ahead  and  give  the  station-master  a 
chance  to  either  side-track  them  or  block  the  track. 
The  pursuing  engine  began  to  gain  again  and 
the  little  band  of  Union  soldiers  moved  into  the 
first  car  and  the  end  of  the  second  car  was  smashed 
and  it  was  cut  loose.  Railroad  ties  were  also 
dropped  across  the  track  and  time  enough  was 
gained  once  more  for  the  General  to  take  on  wood 
and  water  at  two  more  stations  and  to  cut  the 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  117 

wires  beyond  each.  Twice  they  stopped  and  tried 
in  vain  to  raise  a  rail,  but  the  pursuers  came  within 
rifle  range  each  time  before  they  could  finish.  The 
rain  prevented  the  burning  of  the  bridges  and 
now  slowly  and  surely  the  pursuing  engine  began 
to  gain.  The  raiders  tried  every  way  to  block 
the  track.  At  one  point  they  spied  a  spare  rail 
near  a  sharp  curve.  Stopping  the  engine  they 
fitted  it  into  the  track  in  such  a  way  that  it  seemed 
certain  to  derail  the  Confederate  engine.  The 
latter  came  thundering  on  at  full  speed,  struck 
the  hidden  rail,  and  leaped  at  least  six  inches 
from  the  rail,  but  came  down  safely  and  went 
whirling  along  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Not 
once  in  a  hundred  times  could  an  engine  have 
kept  the  track  after  such  a  collision.  This  was  the 
time.  Now  they  were  too  close  to  the  General  to 
allow  of  any  more  stoppages  even  for  wood  and 
water.  Andrews  decided  to  risk  everything  on 
one  last  stroke.  A  mile  or  so  ahead  was  a  wooden- 
covered  bridge.  At  his  orders  out  of  the  last  car 
his  men  swarmed  into  the  engine  filling  every  inch 
of  space,  even  the  tender  and  the  cow-catcher  being 
covered  with  men.  All  of  the  fuel  left  was  piled 
into  the  one  remaining  car,  smeared  with  oil  and 


n8  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

set  afire.  Both  the  doors  were  opened  and  the 
draught  as  it  was  whirled  along  soon  fanned  the 
fire  into  furious  flames.  They  dashed  into  the 
dark  of  the  covered  bridge  with  the  car  spurting 
flame  from  both  sides.  Right  in  the  middle  of 
the  bridge  it  was  uncoupled  and  left  burning  fast 
and  furiously.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that  any 
engine  could  pass  through  such  a  barrier.  There 
was  just  enough  pressure  left  in  the  boiler  to  reach 
the  next  wood-yard  and  the  Union  scouts  looked 
back  anxiously  at  the  bridge.  In  a  minute  they 
heard  around  a  far-away  curve  the  whistle  which 
sounded  to  them  like  the  screech  of  a  demon. 
The  Confederates  had  dashed  into  the  bridge  and 
pushed  the  flaming  car  ahead  of  them  to  the  next 
switch.  The  Union  scouts  had  played  their  last 
card.  There  would  be  no  chance  of  taking  in 
wood  before  they  were  overtaken.  One  thing 
only  was  left.  They  stopped  the  engine,  sprang 
out,  reversed  the  locomotive  and  sent  it  dashing 
back  to  collide  with  their  pursuer  and  then  sepa- 
rated to  try  to  make  their  way  back  some  three 
hundred  miles  through  the  enemy's  country  to  the 
Union  lines.  The  Confederates,  when  they  saw 
the    engine    coming,    reversed    their    own   and 


THE  LOCOMOTIVE  CHASE  119 

kept  just  ahead  of  this  last  attack  of  the  old 
General  until  its  fires  died  down  and  it  came  to  a 
stop. 

Mitchel,  the  Union  general,  but  thirty  miles  west 
of  Chattanooga,  waited  in  vain  for  the  engine 
which  never  came.  Chattanooga  was  saved 
and  the  most  daring  railroad  raid  in  history  had 
failed. 

The  story  of  the  fate  of  the  brave  men  who 
volunteered  for  the  forlorn  hope  is  a  sad  one. 
Several  were  captured  that  same  day  and  all  but 
two  within  a  week.  These  two  were  overtaken  and 
brought  back  when  they  were  just  on  the  point  of 
reaching  the  Union  outposts  and  had  supposed 
themselves  safe.  Even  the  two  who  reached 
Marietta  but  did  not  take  the  train  with  the  others 
were  identified  and  added  to  the  band  of  pris- 
oners. Being  in  civilian  clothes  within  an 
enemy's  lines,  they  were  all  held  as  spies  and  the 
heroic  Andrews  and  seven  others  were  tried 
and  executed.  Of  the  others,  eight,  headed 
by  Brown,  overpowered  the  guards  in  broad 
daylight  and  made  their  escape  from  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  and  finally  reached  the  North.  The 
other  six  started  with  them,  but  were  recaptured 


120    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

and  held  as  prisoners  until  exchanged  in  the  early 
part  of  1863. 

So  ends  the  story  of  an  expedition  that  failed  in 
its  immediate  object,  but  that  succeeded  in  the 
example  which  these  brave  men  set  their  fellows. 


CHAPTER  VII 
Sheridan's  Ride 


CHAPTER  VII 
SHERIDAN'S  RIDE 

THERE  are  as  many  different  kinds  of  courage 
as  there  are  different  kinds  of  men.  Some  men 
are  brave  because  they  were  born  so.  They  are 
no  more  to  be  praised  for  their  bravery  than  a 
bulldog  deserves  credit  because  it  is  a  natural 
born  fighter  or  a  hare  deserves  blame  because  it 
specializes  in  running  away.  Some  men  belong 
to  the  bulldog  class.  They  are  brave  because  it 
is  natural  for  them  to  be  brave.  Others  belong 
to  the  hare-family  and  they  show  far  more  real 
courage  in  overcoming  their  natural  instincts  than 
does  the  other  for  whom  it  is  natural  to  do  brave 
deeds.  Much  also  depends  on  the  circumstances. 
We  all  know  from  our  own  experience  of  athletes 
who  can  play  a  good  winning  game,  and  who 
perform  well  against  inferior  competitors.  The 
rarer  type,  however,  is  the  boy  or  man  who  can 
play  a  good  up-hill  game  and  who  with  all  the 
odds  against  him,  is  able  to  fight  it  out  and  never 


124    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

to  let  up  or  give  up  until  the  last  point  is  scored 
or  the  last  yard  is  run  and  who  often  is  able  to 
win  against  better,  but  less  dogged,  less  courageous 
competitors.  It  is  so  in  battles.  It  is  easy  for 
any  commander  to  be  courageous  and  to  take  un- 
usual chances  when  he  is  winning.  The  thrill  of 
approaching  victory  is  a  stimulant  which  makes 
even  a  coward  act  like  a  brave  man.  Even  Gen- 
eral Gates,  the  weak,  vacillating,  clerkly,  self- 
seeking,  cowardly  general  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  whose  selfishness  and  timidity  were  in  such 
contrast  to  Washington's  self-sacrifice  and  cour- 
age, was  energetic  and  decisive  at  the  battle  of 
Saratoga  after  Benedict  Arnold,  who  was  there 
only  as  a  volunteer,  had  made  his  brave,  success- 
ful charge  on  the  British  column  in  spite  of 
Gates'  orders.  After  attacking  and  dispersing 
the  reserved  line  of  the  British  army,  Arnold 
called  his  men  together  again  and  attacked  the 
Canadians  who  covered  the  British  left  wing. 
Just  as  he  had  cut  through  their  ranks,  a  wounded 
German  soldier  lying  on  the  ground  took  delib- 
erate aim  at  Arnold  and  killed  his  horse  and 
shattered  his  leg  with  the  same  bullet.  As  he 
went  down,  one  of  his  men  tried  to  bayonet  the 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  125 

wounded  soldier  who  had  fired,  but  even  while 
disentangling  himself  from  his  dead  horse  and 
suffering  under  the  pain  of  his  broken  leg,  Arnold 
called  out,  "  For  God's  sake,  don't  hurt  him,  he's 
a  fine  fellow,"  and  saved  the  life  of  the  man  who 
had  done  his  best  to  take  his.  That  was  the  hour 
when  Benedict  Arnold  should  have  died,  at  the 
moment  of  a  magnificent  victory  while  saving  the 
life  of  a  man  who  had  injured  him.  Gates  went 
on  with  the  battle,  closed  in  on  the  British  and  in 
spite  of  their  stubborn  defense,  attacked  them 
fiercely  for  almost  the  only  time  in  his  career  as  a 
general  and  completely  routed  them.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  on  that  occasion  after  Arnold's  charge 
Gates  displayed  a  considerable  amount  of  bravery, 
yet  such  bravery  cannot  really  be  termed  courage 
of  the  high  order  which  was  so  often  displayed 
by  Washington,  by  William  of  Orange  and  later 
by  his  grandson,  William  of  England,  by  Fabius 
the  conqueror  of  Hannibal  and  by  many  other 
generals  who  were  greatest  in  defeat. 

Napoleon  once  said  that  the  highest  kind  of, 
courage  was  the  two-o'clock-in-the-morning  cour- 
age. He  meant  that  at  that  gray  hour,  when  the 
tide  of  life  is  at  its  ebb  before  the  dawn,  a  man 


126    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

who  is  brave  is  brave  indeed.  The  best  test  of 
this  kind  of  courage  is  in  defeat.  Fabius  showed 
that  in  the  long,  wasting  campaign  which  he 
fought  against  Hannibal,  one  of  the  greatest 
generals  of  his  or  any  other  age.  Following, 
retreating,  harassing,  Fabius  always  refused  a 
pitched  battle  until  his  enemies  at  Rome  forced 
the  appointment  of  Minucius  as  joint  dictator 
with  him.  In  spite  of  the  protests  of  Fabius,  the 
army  was  divided  and  the  younger  and  rasher 
Minucius  offered  battle  with  his  army.  He  was 
like  a  child  before  the  crafty  Hannibal  who  con- 
cealed a  great  force  of  men  in  ravines  around  an 
apparently  bare  hill  and  then  inveigled  Minucius 
into  attacking  a  small  force  which  he  sent  up  to 
the  top  of  this  hill  as  a  bait  to  draw  him  on. 
Once  there  the  ambuscade  of  Hannibal  attacked 
the  Roman  army  on  all  sides  and  almost  in  a  mo- 
ment it  was  in  disorder  and  a  retreat  was  com- 
menced which  was  about  to  become  a  rout  when 
Fabius  hurried  up  and  by  his  exhortations  and 
steadfast  courage  rallied  the  men,  re-formed 
them,  drove  through  Hannibal's  lighter-armed 
troops  and  finally  occupied  the  hill  in  safety. 
The   grateful   Minucius   refused   to   act  as  com- 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  127 

mancier   any  further,  but  at  once  insisted  upon 
thereafter  serving  under  Fabius. 

At  the  Battle  of  Boyne,  that  great  battle  be- 
tween William  of  England  and  his  uncle, 
James  II,  which  was  to  decide  whether  England 
should  be  a  free  or  a  slave  nation,  William  showed 
the  same  kind  of  courage.  In  spite  of  chronic 
asthma,  approaching  age  and  a  frail  body,  King 
William  was  a  great  general.  He  never  appeared 
to  such  advantage  as  at  the  head  of  his  troops. 
Usually  of  reserved  and  saturnine  disposition, 
danger  changed  him  into  another  man.  On  this 
day,  while  breakfasting  before  the  battle,  two 
field-pieces  were  trained  on  him  and  a  six-pound 
ball  tore  his  coat  and  grazed  his  shoulder  draw- 
ing blood,  and  dashing  him  from  his  horse.  He 
was  up  in  an  instant,  however,  and  on  that  day 
in  spite  of  his  feeble  health  and  wounded  shoulder, 
was  nineteen  hours  in  the  saddle.  The  crisis 
came  when  the  English  soldiers  charged  across 
the  ford  of  the  Boyne  River.  General  Schomberg, 
William's  right-hand  and  personal  friend,  was 
killed  while  rallying  his  troops.  Bishop  Walker, 
the  hero  of  the  siege  of  Londonderry,  had  been 
struck  by  a  chance  shot  and  the  English,  who  had 


128    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

hardly  obtained  a  firm  foothold  on  the  opposite 
bank,  commenced  to  waver.  At  this  moment 
King  William  forced  his  horse  to  swim  across, 
carrying  his  sword  in  his  left  hand,  for  his  right 
arm  was  stiff  with  his  wound,  and  dashed  up  to 
rally  the  troops.  As  he  rode  up,  the  disorganized 
regiment  recognized  their  king. 

"  What  will  you  do  for  me  ? "  he  cried,  and 
almost  in  an  instant  he  had  rallied  the  men  and 
persuaded  them  to  stand  firm  against  the  attacks 
of  the  ferocious  Irish  horsemen. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  have  heard  much  of 
you.  Let  me  see  something  of  you,"  and  charg- 
ing at  their  head,  this  middle-aged,  wounded 
invalid  by  sheer  courage  shattered  the  Irish  and 
French  troops  and  saved  his  kingdom. 

Our  own  Washington  was  never  greater  than 
in  defeat  and  not  once  but  many  times  rallied  a 
defeated  and  disheartened  army  and  saved  the 
day.  At  the  Battle  of  Monmouth,  the  traitorous 
Charles  Lee  had  turned  what  should  have  been  a 
great  victory  into  a  disorderly  retreat.  After  out- 
flanking Cornwallis,  instead  of  pressing  his  ad- 
vantage, he  ordered  his  men  to  retreat  into 
a   near-by   ravine.     Lafayette's    suspicions   were 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  129 

aroused  and  he  sent  in  hot  haste  to  Washington 
who  arrived  on  the  field  of  battle  just  as  the 
whole  army  in  tremendous  disorder  was  pouring 
out  of  the  marsh  and  back  over  the  neighboring 
ravine  before  the  British  advance.  At  that  mo- 
ment Washington  rode  up  pale  with  anger  and 
for  once  lost  control  of  a  temper  which  cowed  all 
men  when  once  aroused. 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  "  he  shouted 
to  Lee  and  when  he  received  no  answer,  repeated 
the  question  with  a  tremendous  oath.  Then  im- 
mediately realizing  the  situation,  he  sent  Lee 
back  to  the  rear  and  wheeled  about  to  stop  the 
retreat  and  form  a  new  front.  Riding  down  the 
whole  line  of  retreating  soldiers,  the  very  sight  of 
him  steadied  and  rallied  them  and  in  less  than 
half  an  hour  the  line  was  reformed  and  Washing- 
ton drove  back  the  British  across  the  marsh  and 
the  ravine  until  night  put  an  end  to  the  battle. 
Before  morning  the  whole  British  force  had  re- 
treated, leaving  their  wounded  behind  and  the 
Battle  of  Monmouth  had  been  changed  by  the 
courage  and  fortitude  of  one  man  from  defeat  into 
a  victory  for  the  American  forces. 

The  most  striking  instance  in  the  Civil  War  of 


130    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

what  the  courage  of  one  brave,  enduring,  un- 
faltering man  can  do  was  at  the  Battle  of  Cedar 
Creek.  In  the  year  1864,  General  Sheridan,  the 
great  cavalry  leader,  took  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Shenandoah.  Sheridan  was  an  ideal 
cavalry  leader.  Brave,  dashing,  brilliant,  he  had 
commanded  more  horsemen  than  had  any  general 
since  the  days  of  the  Tartar  hordes  of  Tamerlane 
and  Genghis  Khan.  There  was  no  watchful 
waiting  with  Sheridan.  This  he  had  shown  at 
the  great  mountain  battle  of  Chattanooga.  At 
that  battle,  Missionary  Ridge  was  the  keystone  of 
the  Confederate  position.  It  was  occupied  by 
Confederate  batteries  and  swarming  with  Con- 
federate troops.  A  storming  party  was  sent  from 
the  main  body  of  the  Union  forces  to  drive  out 
the  Confederates  who  held  the  woods  on  the  flanks 
of  the  Ridge.  The  orders  were  to  attack  the  Con- 
federates and  hold  the  captured  positions  until  the 
main  body  could  come  up.  Grant  was  watching 
the  battle  through  his  field-glasses  and  saw  the  at- 
tacking party  gain  possession  of  the  slopes  of  the 
Ridge.  Suddenly,  to  his  surprise  and  horror,  the 
whole  regiment  charged  directly  up  the  Ridge.  It 
was  a  mad  thing  to  do  for  the  top  was  held  by  a 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  131 

tremendous  force  of  Confederates  and  guarded  by 
massed  batteries.  General  Grant  called  General 
Granger  up  to  him  and  said  angrily : 

"  Did  you  order  those  men  up,  Granger  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  general,  "  they  started  up  with- 
out orders.  When  those  fellows  get  started,  all 
hell  can't  stop  'em." 

General  Grant  then  sent  word  to  General 
Sheridan  to  either  stop  the  men  or  take  the 
Ridge. 

"  I  guess  it  will  be  easier  to  take  the  Ridge 
than  it  will  be  to  stop  them,"  said  Sheridan. 

Before  starting,  he  borrowed  a  flask  and  waved 
it  toward  the  group  of  Confederate  officers  who 
were  standing  on  top  of  the  Ridge  in  front  of  the 
headquarters  of  Bragg,  the  Confederate  general. 

"  Here's  at  you,"  he  shouted,  drinking  to  them. 
They  could  plainly  see  his  action  through  their 
field-glasses  and  immediately  two  field-guns,  which 
were  known  as  Lady  Breckenridge  and  Lady 
Buckner,  were  trained  at  Sheridan  and  his  group 
of  officers  and  fired.  One  shell  struck  so  near 
Sheridan  as  to  splash  dirt  all  over  him. 

"  I'll  take  those  guns  just  for  that,"  was  all 
he  said  and,  followed  by  his  officers,  he  dashed 


132    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

up  the  Ridge  after  the  climbing,  attacking- 
party.  The  way  was  so  steep  that  the  men  had 
to  climb  up  on  their  hands  and  knees  while  the 
solid  shot  and  shell  tore  great  furrows  in  their 
ranks.  Sheridan  was  off  his  horse  as  soon  as  the 
slope  became  steep,  and,  although  he  had  started 
after  the  charge,  was  soon  at  the  front  of  the  men. 
They  recognized  him  with  a  tremendous  cheer. 

"  I'm  not  much  used  to  this  charging  on  foot, 
boys,"  he  said,  "  but  I'll  do  the  best  I  can,"  and 
he  set  a  pace  which  soon  brought  his  men  so  far 
up  that  the  guns  above  could  not  be  depressed 
enough  to  hit  them.  Behind  him  came  the  whole 
storming  party  clambering  up  on  their  hands  and 
knees  with  their  regimental  flags  flying  every- 
where, sometimes  dropping  as  the  bearers  were 
shot,  but  never  reaching  the  ground  because  they 
would  be  caught  up  again  and  again  by  others. 
At  last  they  were  so  near  that  the  Confederate  ar- 
tillerymen, in  order  to  save  time,  lighted  the  fuses 
of  their  shells  and  bowled  them  down  by  hand 
against  the  storming  party.  Just  before  they 
reached  the  summit,  Sheridan  formed  them  into  a 
battle-line  and  then  with  a  tremendous  cheer,  they 
dashed  forward  and  attacked  the   Ridge  at  six 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  133 

different  points.  The  Confederates  had  watched 
their  approach  with  amazement  and  amusement. 
When  they  found,  however,  that  nothing  seemed 
to  stop  them,  they  were  seized  with  a  panic  and  as 
the  six  desperate  storming  parties  dashed  upon 
them  from  different  angles,  after  a  few  minutes' 
fast  fighting,  they  broke  and  retreated  in  a  hope- 
less rout  down  the  other  side  of  the  Ridge.  Sheri- 
dan stopped  long  enough  to  claim  Lady  Brecken- 
ridge  and  Lady  Buckner  as  his  personal  spoils  of 
war  and  forming  his  men  again,  led  them  on  to  a 
splendid  victory. 

As  soon  as  he  took  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Shenandoah,  aggressive  fighting  at  once  be- 
gan. Twice  he  defeated  Jubal  Early,  once  at 
Winchester  and  again  at  Fisher's  Hill,  while  one 
of  his  generals  routed  the  Rebels  so  completely  in 
a  brilliant  engagement  at  Woodstock  that  the  bat- 
tle was  always  known  as  the  Woodstock  Races, 
the  Confederate  soldiers  being  well  in  front  in 
this  competition.  Finally,  General  Sheridan  had 
massed  his  whole  army  at  Cedar  Creek.  From 
there  he  rode  back  to  Washington  to  have  a  con- 
ference with  General  Halleck  and  the  Secretary  of 
War.     When  that  was  finished  with  his  escort  he 


134    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

rode  back  to  Winchester,  some  twelve  miles  from 
Cedar  Creek,  two  days  later.  There  he  received 
word  that  all  was  well  at  his  headquarters  and  he 
turned  in  and  went  to  bed  intending  to  join  the 
army  the  next  day.  Six  o'clock  the  next  morning 
an  aide  aroused  him  with  the  news  that  artillery 
firing  could  be  heard  in  the  direction  of  Cedar 
Creek.  Sheridan  was  out  of  bed  in  a  moment 
and  though  it  was  reported  that  it  sounded  more 
like  a  skirmish  than  a  battle,  he  at  once  ordered 
breakfast  and  started  for  Cedar  Creek.  As  he 
came  to  the  edge  of  Winchester  he  could  hear  the 
unceasing  roar  of  the  artillery  and  was  convinced 
at  once  that  a  battle  was  in  progress  and  from  the 
increase  of  the  sound  judged  that  the  Union  Army 
must  be  falling  back.  The  delighted  faces  of  the 
Confederate  citizens  of  Winchester,  who  showed 
themselves  at  the  windows,  also  convinced  him 
that  they  had  secret  information  from  the  battle- 
field and  were  in  raptures  over  some  good  news. 
With  twenty  men  he  started  to  cover  the  twelve 
miles  to  Cedar  Creek  as  fast  as  their  horses  could 
gallop.  Sheridan  was  riding  that  day  a  magnifi- 
cent black,  thoroughbred  horse,  Rienzi,  which 
had  been  presented  to  him  by  some  of  his  ad- 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  135 

mirers.  Like  Lee's  gray  horse  "  Traveler "  and 
the  horse  Wellington  rode  at  Waterloo,  "  Copen- 
hagen," Rienzi  was  to  become  famous.  Before 
Sheridan  had  gone  far  and  just  after  crossing 
Mill  Creek  outside  of  Winchester,  he  commenced 
to  meet  hundreds  of  men,  some  wounded,  all  de- 
moralized, who  with  their  baggage  were  all  rush- 
ing to  the  rear  in  hopeless  confusion.  Just  north 
of  Newtown  he  met  an  army  chaplain  digging  his 
heels  into  the  sides  of  his  jaded  horse  and  making 
for  the  rear  with  all  possible  speed.  Sheridan 
stopped  him  and  inquired  how  things  were  going 
at  the  front. 

"  Everything  is  lost,"  replied  the  chaplain,  "  but 
it  will  be  all  right  when  you  get  there." 

The  parson,  however,  in  spite  of  this  expression 
of  confidence,  kept  on  going.  Sheridan  sent  back 
word  to  Colonel  Edwards,  who  commanded  a 
brigade  at  Winchester,  to  stretch  his  troops  across 
the  valley  and  stop  all  fugitives.  To  most  men 
this  would  have  been  the  only  plan  of  action  pos- 
sible, to  stop  the  fugitives  and  rally  at  Winchester. 
Sheridan,  however,  was  not  accustomed  to  de- 
fensive fighting  and  instantly  made  up  his  mind 
that  he  would  rally  his  men  at  the  front  and  if 


136    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

possible,  turn  this  defeat  into  a  victory.  The 
roads  were  too  crowded  to  be  used  and  so  he 
jumped  the  fence  into  the  fields  and  rode  straight 
across  country  toward  the  drumming  guns  at 
Cedar  Creek,  which  showed  where  the  main  battle 
was  raging.  From  the  fugitives,  as  he  rode, 
Sheridan  obtained  a  clear  idea  of  what  had  hap- 
pened. His  great  rival,  Early,  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  his  absence  to  obtain  revenge  for  his 
previous  defeats.  Just  after  dawn  he  had  made 
an  attack  in  two  different  directions  on  the  Union 
forces  and  had  started  a  panic  which  had  seized 
all  the  soldiers  except  one  division  under  Getty  and 
the  cavalry  under  Lowell.  The  army  which  Sher- 
idan met  was  a  defeated  army  in  full  rout.  As  he 
dashed  along,  the  men  everywhere  recognized  him, 
stopped  running,  threw  up  their  hats  with  a  cheer 
and  shouldering  their  muskets,  turned  around 
and  followed  him  as  fast  as  they  could.  He  di- 
rected his  escort  to  ride  in  all  directions  and  an- 
nounce that  General  Sheridan  was  coming.  From 
all  through  the  fields  and  roads  could  be  heard 
the  sound  of  faint  cheering  and  everywhere  men 
were  seen  turning,  rallying  and  marching  forward 
instead   of   back.     Even  the  wounded   who  had 


Sheridan  Hurrying  to  Rally  His  Met 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  137 

fallen  by  the  roadside  waved  their  hands  and  hats 
to  him  as  he  passed.  As  he  rode,  Sheridan  took 
off  his  hat  so  as  to  be  more  easily  recognized  and 
thundered  along  sometimes  in  the  road  and  some- 
times across  country.  As  he  met  the  retreating 
troops,  he  said : 

"  Boys,  if  I  had  been  with  you  this  morning  this 
wouldn't  have  happened.  The  thing  to  do  now 
is  to  face  about  and  win  this  battle  after  all. 
Come  on  after  me  as  fast  as  you  can." 

So  he  galloped  the  whole  twelve  miles  with  the 
men  everywhere  rallying  behind  him  and  follow- 
ing him  at  full  speed.  At  last  he  came  to  the 
forefront  of  the  battle  where  Getty's  division  and 
the  cavalry  were  holding  their  own  and  resisting 
the  rapid  approach  of  the  whole  Confederate 
Army.  Sheridan  called  upon  his  horse  for  a  last 
effort  and  jumped  the  rail  fence  at  the  crest  of  the 
hill.  By  this  time  the  black  horse  was  white  with 
foam,  but  he  carried  his  master  bravely  up  and 
down  in  front  of  the  line  and  the  whole  brigade 
of  men  rose  to  their  feet  with  a  tremendous  cheer 
and  poured  in  a  fierce  fire  upon  the  approaching 
Confederate  troops.  Sheridan  rode  along  the 
whole  front  of  the  line  and  aroused  a  wild  enthu- 


138    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

siasm  which  showed  itself  in  the  way  that  the  first 
Rebel  charge  was  driven  back.  Telling  Getty's 
and  Lowell's  men  to  hold  on,  he  rode  back  to 
meet  the  approaching  troops.  By  half-past  three 
in  the  afternoon,  Sheridan  had  brought  back  all 
the  routed  troops,  reformed  his  whole  battle  line 
and  waving  his  hat,  led  a  charge  riding  his  same 
gallant  black  horse.  As  they  attacked  the  Con- 
federate front,  Generals  Merritt  and  Custer  made  a 
fresh  attack  and  the  whole  Confederate  Army  fell 
back  routed  and  broken  and  was  driven  up  the 
valley  in  the  same  way  that  earlier  in  the  day 
they  had  driven  the  Union  soldiers.  Once  again 
the  presence  of  one  brave  man  had  turned  a  de- 
feat into  a  victory. 

Sheridan  took  no  credit  to  himself  in  his  report 
to  Lincoln,  simply  telegraphing,  "  By  the  gallantry 
of  our  brave  officers  and  men,  disaster  has  been 
converted  into  a  splendid  victory." 

"  My  personal  admiration  and  gratitude  for 
your  splendid  work  of  October  19th,"  Lincoln 
telegraphed  back  and  the  whole  country  rang 
with  praises  of  Phil.  Sheridan  and  his  wonder- 
ful ride.  The  day  after  the  news  of  the  battle 
reached    the     North,    Thomas    Buchanan    Read 


SHERIDAN'S  RIDE  139 

wrote  a  poem  entitled   "  Sheridan's  Ride,"   with 
a  stirring  chorus. 

The  last  verse  sang  the  praise  both  of  the  rider 
and  the  horse : 

"  What  was  done  ?  what  to  do  ?     A  glance  told  him  both, 
Then  striking  his  spurs  with  a  terrible  oath, 
He  dashed  down  the  line,  mid  a  storm  of  huzzas, 
And  the  wave  of  retreat  checked  its  course  there  because, 
The  sight  of  the  master  compelled  it  to  pause. 
With  foam  and  with  dust  the  black  charger  was  gray ; 
By  the  flash  of  his  eye,  and  the  red  nostrils'  play, 
He  seemed  to  the  whole  great  army  to  say, 
'  I  have  brought  you  Sheridan  all  the  way 
From  Winchester,  down  to  save  the  day.'  " 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Bloody  Angle 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  BLOODY  ANGLE 

It  takes  courage  to  charge,  to  rush  over  a 
space  swept  by  shot  and  shell  and  attack  a  body 
of  men  grimly  waiting  to  beat  back  the  onset  with 
murderous  volleys  and  cold  steel.  Sometimes, 
though,  it  takes  more  courage  to  stand  than  to 
charge,  to  endure  than  to  attack.  The  six  hun- 
dred gallant  horsemen  of  that  Light  Brigade  who 
charged  an  army  at  Balaclava  were  brave  men. 
The  six  hundred  Knights  of  St.  John  who  at  the 
siege  of  Malta  by  Solyman  the  Magnificent  de- 
fended the  tiny  fortress  of  St.  Elmo  against  thirty 
thousand  Turks  until  every  man  lay  dead  back  of 
the  broken  ramparts  and  the  power  and  might  of 
the  Turkish  Empire  had  been  wasted  and  shat- 
tered against  their  indomitable  defense  were 
braver.  The  burghers  of  Leyden  who  lived 
through  the  siege  of  their  city  on  shoe-leather, 
rats  and  bark,  who  baked  their  last  loaves  and 
threw  them  down  to  the  besiegers  in  magnificent 
defiance,  who  shouted  down  to  the  Spaniards  that 


144    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

they  would  eat  their  left  arms  and  fight  with  their 
right,  and  who  slept  on  the  ramparts  night  and 
day  until  they  drove  back  the  greatest  army  in  all 
Europe  were  braver. 

"  It's  dogged  that  does  it,"  said  the  grim  Duke 
of  Wellington  when  his  thin  red  line  of  English 
fighters  endured  through  that  long  summer  day 
against  attack  after  attack  until  at  twilight  the 
Old  Guard  were  repulsed  for  the  last  time  and  the 
great  battle  of  Waterloo  won. 

Many  men  are  brave/  in  flashes.  They  are 
good  for  a  dash.  Few  are  those  who  can  go  the 
distance. 

This  is  the  story  of  a  Union  general  who  could 
endure  and  whose  courage  flared  highest  when 
defeat  and  death  seemed  certain.  It  is  the  story 
of  a  little  band  of  men  who  were  brave  enough  to 
stand  against  an  army  and  whose  endurance  won 
a  seven-day  battle  and  opened  the  way  for  the 
capture  of  the  Confederate  capital. 

It  was  the  fourth  year  of  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, and  the  end  was  not  yet  in  sight.  The  Con- 
federate cause  had  fewer  men,  but  better  officers. 
Robert  E.  Lee  was  undoubtedly  the  most  able 
general    in    the   world   at   that   time.     Stonewall 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  145 

Jackson  had  been  his  right  arm,  while  Longstreet, 
Johnston,  Early  and  a  host  of  other  fighting  lead- 
ers helped  him  to  defeat  one  Union  army  after 
another.  The  trouble  with  the  Union  leaders  was 
that  they  didn't  know  how  to  attack.  There  had 
been  McClellan,  a  wonderful  organizer,  but  who 
preferred  to  dig  entrenchments  rather  than  fight 
and  who  never  believed  that  he  had  enough  men 
to  risk  a  battle. 

Then  came  Meade  who  won  the  great  battle  of 
Gettysburg  and  beat  back  the  only  invasion  of 
the  North,  but  who  failed  to  follow  up  his  advan- 
tage and  had  settled  down  to  the  old  policy  that 
the  North  knew  so  well  of  watchful  waiting.  At 
last  came  the  Man.  He  had  been  fighting  in  the 
West  and  he  had  won, — not  important  battles,  but 
more  important,  the  confidence  of  the  people  and 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  people's  president.  For 
this  new  man  had  a  new  system  of  generalship. 
His  tactics  were  simple  enough.  He  believed 
that  armies  were  made  to  use,  not  to  save.  He 
believed  in  finding  the  enemy  and  hammering 
and  hammering  and  hammering  away  until  some- 
thing broke — and  that  something  was  usually  the 
enemy.     His  name  was  Ulysses  S.  Grant. 


146    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  He  fights,"  was  all  that  President  Lincoln 
said  about  him  when  a  party  of  politicians  came  to 
ask  that  he  be  removed.  That  was  enough. 
What  the  North  wanted  was  a  fighter.  Other 
generals  would  fight  when  they  had  to  and  were 
satisfied  to  stop  if  they  defeated  the  enemy  or 
broke  even,  but  Grant  was  like  old  Charles  Martel, 
Charles  the  Hammerer,  who  won  his  name  when 
he  saved  all  Europe  from  the  Saracens  on  the  plains 
of  Tours  by  a  seven-day  battle.  The  great  host 
of  horsemen  which  had  swept  victorious  through 
Asia,  Africa  and  half  the  circle  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean whirled  down  on  the  solid  mass  of  grim 
Northmen.  For  six  long  days  Charles  Martel 
hammered  away  at  that  flashing  horde  of  wild 
warriors.  On  the  seventh  his  hammer  strokes 
shattered  the  might  of  the  Moslems  and  they 
broke  and  fled,  never  to  cross  the  Pyrenees  again. 
Now  like  Charles,  the  Hammerer  of  the  Union 
Army  was  facing  his  great  test,  the  terrible  Seven 
Days  in  the  Wilderness.  Between  him  and  the 
Confederate  capital  lay  Lee's  veteran  army  en- 
trenched in  that  wild  stretch  of  Virginia  territory 
which  was  well  named  the  Wilderness.  Every 
foot    of    the   puzzling    woods,    ravines,    thickets 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  147 

and  trails  were  known  to  the  Confederates  and 
well  they  ought  to  know  it  since  they  had  al- 
ready won  a  great  battle  on  nearly  the  same  field. 
In  this  tangled  waste  an  army  that  knew  the 
ground  had  a  tremendous  advantage.  Lee  chose 
his  battle-field,  but  did  not  believe  that  Grant 
would  join  battle.  He  was  to  learn  to  know  his 
great  opponent  better.  Grant  would  always  fight. 
On  May  4,  1864,  the  head  of  Grant's  army  met 
Lee's  forces  on  one  of  the  few  roads  of  the 
Wilderness,  known  as  the  Orange  Plank  Road. 
The  battle  was  joined.  At  first  the  Union  forces 
drove  the  Confederates  back  into  the  thick  woods. 
There  they  were  reinforced  and  the  knowledge  of 
the  field  began  to  tell.  Everywhere  Confederate 
soldiers  were  sent  by  short  cuts  to  attack  the  en- 
tangled Union  forces  and  before  long  the  Union 
line  was  shattered  and  driven  back  only  to  form 
again  and  fight  once  more  for  six  long  days. 
And  what  a  battle  that  was  !  As  in  the  fierce 
forest-fight  between  David  and  Absalom  the  wood 
devoured  more  people  that  day  than  the  sword 
devoured.  The  men  fought  at  close  quarters  and 
in  the  tangled  thickets  of  stunted  Virginia  pine 
and  scrub-oak  they  could  scarcely  see  ten  yards 


148    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

ahead.  Every  thicket  was  alive  with  men  and 
flashed  with  musketry  while  the  roar  and  rattle  of 
guns  on  all  sides  frightened  the  deer  and  rab- 
bits and  wildcats  that  before  that  day  had  been 
the  only  dwellers  in  those  masses  of  underbrush. 
The  men  fought  blindly  and  desperately  in  both 
armies.  Artillery  could  not  be  used  to  much 
advantage  in  the  brush.  It  was  largely  a  battle 
of  musket  and  bayonet  and  wild  hand-to-hand 
fights  in  the  tangle  of  trees.  The  second  day  the 
Confederate  lines  were  rolled  back  to  the  spot 
where  Lee  himself  stood.  Just  as  they  were 
breaking,  down  the  plank  road  at  a  steady  trot 
came  a  double  column  of  splendid  troops  paying 
no  attention  to  the  rabble  and  rout  around  them. 
Straight  to  the  front  they  moved.  It  was  the 
brigade  of  Longstreet,  Lee's  great  "  left  hand." 
At  once  the  Union  advance  was  stopped  and  the 
Confederates  began  to  reform  their  lines.  At 
this  moment  from  the  pines  streamed  another 
Federal  brigade  with  apparently  resistless  force 
down  upon  the  still  confused  line.  Then  it  was 
that  a  little  force  of  Texans  did  a  brave  deed. 
They  saw  that  if  the  Union  advance  was  not 
checked,  their  men  would  not  have  time  to  form. 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  149 

Although  only  eight  hundred  strong,  they  never 
hesitated,  but  with  a  wild  Rebel  yell  and  without 
any  supports  or  reinforcements,  charged  directly 
into  the  flank  of  the  marching  Union  column  of 
many  times  their  number.  There  was  a  crash,  and 
a  tumult  of  shouts  and  yells  which  settled  down 
into  a  steady  roar  of  musketry.  In  less  than  ten 
minutes  half  of  the  devoted  band  lay  dead  or 
wounded.  But  they  had  broken  the  force  of  the 
Federal  advance  and  had  given  the  Confederate 
line  time  to  rally. 

Back  and  forth,  day  after  day  the  human  tide 
ebbed  and  flowed  until  the  lonely  Wilderness  was 
crowded  with  men,  echoing  with  the  roar  and 
rattle  of  guns  and  stained  red  with  brave  blood. 
At  times  in  the  confusion  scattered  troops  fired 
upon  their  own  men,  and  Longstreet  was  wounded 
by  such  an  accident. 

At  one  place  the  Federal  forces  had  erected  log 
breastworks.  These  caught  fire  during  the  battle 
and  both  forces  fought  each  other  over  a  line  of 
fire  through  which  neither  could  pass.  From 
every  thicket  different  flags  waved.  The  forces 
were  so  mixed  that  men  going  back  for  water 
would  find  themselves  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 


150    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

In  places  the  woods  caught  fire  and  men  fought 
through  the  rolling  smoke  until  driven  back  by  the 
flames  that  spared  neither  the  Blue  nor  the  Gray. 
Both  sides  would  then  crawl  out  to  rescue  the 
wounded  lying  in  the  path  of  the  fire.  In  some 
places  where  the  men  had  fought  through  the 
brush,  bushes,  saplings  and  even  large  trees  were 
cut  off  by  bullets  four  or  five  feet  from  the  ground  as 
clean  and  regularly  as  if  by  machinery.  For  the 
first  few  days  the  Confederates  had  the  advantage. 
They  knew  the  paths  and  the  Union  men  were 
driven  back  and  forth  among  the  woods  in  a  way 
that  would  have  made  any  ordinary  general  re- 
treat. But  Grant  was  not  an  ordinary  general. 
The  more  he  was  beaten  the  harder  he  fought. 
The  more  men  he  lost  the  more  he  called  into  ac- 
tion from  the  reserves. 

"  It's  no  use  fighting  that  fellow,"  said  one  old 
Confederate  veteran  ;  "  the  fool  never  knows  when 
he's  beaten.  And  it's  no  use  shooting  at  those 
Yanks,"  he  went  on  ;  "  half-a-dozen  more  come  to 
take  the  place  of  every  one  we  hit." 

At  last  the  Union  soldiers  got  the  lay  of  the 
land.  They  couldn't  be  surprised  or  ambushed 
any  more.     Then  they  began  to  throw  up  breast- 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  151 

works  and  to  cut  down  trees  to  hold  every  foot 
that  they  had  taken.  The  Confederates  did  the 
same  and  the  two  long,  irregular  lines  of  earth- 
works and  log  fortifications  faced  each  other  all 
the  way  through  the  Wilderness.  Yet  still  the 
lines  of  gray  lay  between  Richmond  and  the  men 
in  blue.  For  six  days  the  men  had  fought  locked 
together  in  hand-to-hand  fights  over  miles  and 
miles  of  wilderness,  marsh  and  thicket.  The 
Union  losses  had  been  terrific.  All  along  the  line 
the  Confederates  had  won  and  again  and  again 
had  dashed  back  the  attempts  of  the  Union  forces 
to  pass  through  or  around  their  lines.  The 
Union  Army  had  lost  eleven  officers  and  twenty 
thousand  men  and  had  fought  for  six  days  without 
accomplishing  anything.  Yet  on  that  day  Grant 
sent  to  Washington  a  dispatch  in  which  he  wrote  : 
"  I  propose  to  fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes 
all  summer." 

Through  all  this  tumult  of  defeats  and  losses  he 
sat  under  a  tree  whittling  and  directing  every 
movement  as  coolly  as  if  safe  at  home.  Finally  the 
great  Hammerer  chose  a  spot  at  which  to  batter 
and  smash  with  those  tremendous  strokes  of  his. 
The  Confederates  had  built  a  long  irregular  line  of 


152    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

earthworks  and  timber  breastworks  running  for 
miles  through  the  tangled  woods.  At  one  point 
near  the  center  of  the  lines  a  half-moon  of  de- 
fenses jutted  out  high  above  the  rest  of  the  works. 
At  the  chord  of  this  half-circle  was  an  angle  of 
breastworks  back  of  which  the  Confederates  could 
retreat  if  driven  out  of  the  semicircle.  Grant  saw 
that  this  half-moon  was  the  key  of  the  Confeder- 
ate position.  If  it  could  be  captured  and  held, 
their  whole  battle  line  could  be  broken  and 
crumpled  back  and  the  Union  Army  pass  on  to 
Richmond.  If  taken  at  all,  it  must  be  by  some 
sudden  irresistible  attack.  He  chose  General 
Hancock,  a  daring,  dashing  fighter,  to  make  the 
attempt  for  the  morning  of  May  12th.  It  rained 
hard  on  the  night  of  May  nth  and  came  off  bitter 
cold.  The  men  gathered  for  the  attack  about  ten 
o'clock  and  huddled  together  in  little  groups  wet 
and  half-frozen.  All  that  long  night  they  waited. 
Just  at  dawn  the  word  was  passed  around.  Crouch- 
ing in  the  darkness,  a  division  pressed  forward  and 
rushed  like  tigers  at  the  half-circle  and  began  to 
climb  the  breastworks  from  two  sides.  The 
sleepy  sentries  saw  the  rush  too  late.  The  first 
man  over  was  a  young  sergeant  named  Brown. 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  153 

With  a  tremendous  jump  he  caught  a  project- 
ing bough,  swung  himself  over  like  a  cat  and 
landed  right  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  startled 
soldiers.  Finding  himself  entirely  alone  with  a 
score  of  guns  pointed  at  him,  he  lost  his  nerve  for 
a  minute. 

"  I  surrender,  don't  shoot,"  he  bellowed  like  a 
bull.  At  that  moment  from  all  sides  other  soldiers 
dropped  over  the  rampart. 

"I  take  it  all  back,"  shouted  Brown,  now  brave 
again,  and  to  make  up  for  the  break  in  his  cour- 
age he  rushed  into  the  very  midst  of  the  defenders 
and,  single-handed,  captured  the  colors.  The  Con- 
federates were  taken  entirely  by  surprise.  In  the 
dim  light  they  fought  desperately,  but  they  were 
attacked  from  two  sides  with  bullets,  bayonets  and 
smashing  blows  from  the  butt-ends  of  muskets  used 
like  clubs.  Almost  in  a  moment  the  entrenchments 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  Union  soldiers  and  over 
three  thousand  prisoners,  two  generals  and  twenty 
cannon  were  captured.  Those  who  were  left  took 
refuge  back  of  the  angle-breastworks  which 
guarded  the  approach  to  the  half-moon.  There 
they  fought  back  the  charging  troops  until  Lee, 
who  had  heard  of  the  disaster,  could  pour  in  rein- 


154    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

forcements.  He  knew  full  well  that  this  center 
must  be  retaken  at  any  cost.  Every  man  and  gun 
that  could  be  spared  was  hurried  to  the  spot.  Lee 
started  then  to  take  command  in  person.  Only 
when  the  soldiers  refused  to  fight  unless  he  took 
a  safe  place  did  he  consent  to  stay  back. 

With  all  his  available  forces  Grant  lapped  the 
half-circle  on  every  side  and  began  to  hammer 
away  at  this  break  in  the  Confederate  line.  The 
Confederate  reinforcements  came  up  first  and 
Hancock's  men  were  driven  back  from  the  angle 
until  they  met  the  reinforcements  pouring  in  from 
the  troops  outside.  For  a  moment  they  could  not 
face  the  concentrated  fire  that  came  from  the  rear 
breastworks.  Flat  on  their  faces  officers  and  men 
lay  in  a  little  marsh  while  the  canister  swished 
against  the  tall  marsh-grass  and  the  minie  balls 
moaned  horribly  as  they  picked  out  exposed  men 
here  and  there.  Soon  another  regiment  came 
up  and  with  a  yell  the  men  sprang  to  their  feet 
and  dashed  at  the  breastworks  which  loomed  up 
through  the  little  patch  of  woods  through  which 
they  had  retreated.  In  a  minute  they  had  rushed 
through  the  trees  with  men  dropping  on  every 
side  under  the  murderous  fire.     Before  them  was 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  155 

the  grim  angle  of  works  to  be  known  forever  as 
the  Bloody  Angle. 

As  they  came  nearer  they  found  themselves  in 
front  of  a  deep  ditch.  Scrambling  through  this 
they  became  entangled  in  an  abattis,  a  kind  of 
latticework  of  limbs  and  branches.  As  they 
plunged  into  this  many  a  man  was  caught  in  the 
footlocks  formed  by  the  interwoven  branches  and 
held  until  he  was  shot  down  by  the  fire  back  of 
the  breastworks.  These  were  made  of  heavy 
timber  banked  with  earth  to  a  height  of  about 
four  feet.  Above  this  was  what  was  called  a 
"  head-log "  raised  just  high  enough  to  allow  a 
musket  to  be  inserted  between  it  and  the  lower 
work.  Inside  were  shelves  covered  with  piles  of 
buck  and  ball  and  minie  cartridges.  Through 
the  ditch  and  the  snares,  up  and  over  the  breast- 
works charged  a  Pennsylvania  regiment,  losing 
nearly  one  hundred  men  as  they  went. 

Once  again  there  was  the  same  confused  hand- 
to-hand  fighting  as  had  taken  place  at  the  outer 
fortifications.  This  time  the  result  was  different. 
The  crafty  Lee  had  hurried  a  dense  mass  of  troops 
through  the  mist.  These  men  crawled  forward  in 
the  smoke,  reserving  their  fire  until  they  got  to  the 


156    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

very  inside  edge  of  the  Angle.  Then  with  the 
terrible  long-drawn  Rebel  yell,  they  sprang  to 
their  feet  and  dashed  into  the  breastworks  with  a 
volley  that  killed  every  Union  soldier  who  had 
crossed  over.  Down  too  went  the  men  in  front, 
still  tangled  in  the  abattis.  Every  artillery  horse 
was  shot  and  Colonel  Upton  of  the  95th  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers  was  the  only  mounted  officer  in 
sight. 

"  Stick  to  it,  boys,"  he  shouted,  riding  back  and 
forth  and  waving  his  hat.  "  We've  got  to  hold 
this  point ! " 

In  a  dense  mass  the  Confederates  poured  into 
the  breastworks  and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if 
they  would  sweep  the  Union  forces  back  and  re- 
take the  half-moon  salient.  At  this  moment  the 
Pennsylvanians  were  reinforced  by  the  5th  Maine 
and  the  121st  New  York,  but  the  Confederates 
had  the  advantage  of  the  breastworks  and  the 
Union  men  began  to  waver.  Then  a  little  two- 
gun  battery  of  the  Second  Corps  did  a  very  brave 
thing.  They  were  located  at  the  foot  of  a  hill 
back  of  a  pine-grove.  As  the  news  came  that  the 
Union  men  were  giving  way,  they  limbered  the 
guns,   the   drivers  and  cannoneers  mounted  the 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  157 

horses  and  up  the  hill  at  full  gallop  they  charged 
through  the  Union  infantry  and  right  up  to  the 
breastworks,  the  only  case  of  a  charge  by  a  bat- 
tery in  history.  Then  in  a  second  they  unlim- 
bered  their  guns  and  poured  in  a  fire  of  the  tin  cans 
filled  with  bullets  called  canister  which  was  deadly 
on  the  close-packed  ranks  of  the  Confederates 
hurrying  up  to  the  Angle.  The  Union  gunners 
were  exposed  to  the  full  fire  of  the  men  back  of 
the  breastworks,  but  they  never  flinched.  The 
left  gun  fired  nine  rounds  and  the  right  four- 
teen double  charges.  These  cannonades  simply 
mowed  the  men  down  in  groups.  Captain  Fish 
of  General  Upton's  staff  left  his  men  and  rushed 
to  help  this  little  battery.  Back  and  forth  he  rode 
before  the  guns  and  the  caissons  carrying  stands 
of  canister  under  his  rubber  coat. 

"  Give  it  to  'em,  boys,"  he  shouted.  "  I'll  bring 
you  canister  if  you'll  only  use  it." 

Again  and  again  he  rode  until,  just  as  he  turned 
to  cheer  the  gunners  once  more,  he  fell  mortally 
wounded.  The  guns  were  fired  until  all  of  the 
horses  were  killed,  the  guns,  carriages  and  buckets 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  bullets  and  only  two  of  the 
twenty-three  men  of  the  battery  were  left  on  their 


158    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

feet.  Leaving  their  two  brass  pieces  which  had 
done  such  terrible  execution  still  on  the  breast- 
works cut  and  hacked  by  the  bullets  from  both 
sides,  the  lone  two  marched  back  through  the 
cheering  infantry. 

"  That's  the  way  to  do  it,"  shouted  Colonel 
Upton.  "  Hold  'em,  men  !  Hold  'em  1 "  And 
his  men  held. 

The  soft  mud  came  up  half-way  to  their  knees. 
Under  the  continued  tramping  back  and  forth, 
the  dead  and  wounded  were  almost  buried  at  their 
feet.  The  shattered  ranks  backed  off  a  few  yards, 
then  closed  up  and  started  to  hold  their  place  out 
in  the  open  against  the  constantly  increasing 
masses  of  the  enemy  back  of  the  breastworks  of 
the  Angle.  The  space  was  so  narrow  that  only  a 
certain  number  of  men  on  each  side  could  get 
into  action  at  once.  A  New  Jersey  and  Vermont 
brigade  hurried  in  to  help  while  on  the  other  side 
General  Lee  sent  all  the  men  that  could  find  a 
place  to  fight  back  of  the  breastworks.  Into  the 
melee  came  an  orderly  who  shouted  in  Colonel 
Upton's  ear  so  as  to  be  heard  over  the  rattle  of 
musketry  and  the  roar  of  yells  and  cheers  : 

"  General  Grant  says,  '  Hold  on  1 '  " 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  159 

"  Tell  General  Grant  we  are  holding  on," 
shouted  back  Colonel  Upton. 

The  men  in  the  mud  now  directed  all  their  fire 
at  the  top  of  the  breastworks  and  picked  off  every 
head  and  hand  that  showed  above.  The  Confed- 
erates then  fired  through  the  loopholes,  or  placed 
their  rifles  on  the  top  log  and  holding  by  the 
trigger  and  the  small  of  the  stock  lifted  the  breach 
high  enough  to  fire  at  the  attacking  forces.  The 
losses  on  both  sides  were  frightful.  A  gun  and  a 
mortar  battery  took  position  half  a  mile  back  of 
the  Union  forces  and  began  to  gracefully  curve 
shells  and  bombs  just  over  the  heads  of  their  com- 
rades so  as  to  drop  within  the  ramparts.  Some- 
times the  enemy's  fire  would  slacken.  Then  some 
reckless  Union  soldier  would  seize  a  fence-rail  or 
a  piece  of  the  abattis  and  creep  close  to  the  breast- 
works and  thrust  it  over  as  if  he  was  stirring  up  a 
hornet's  nest,  dropping  on  the  ground  to  avoid 
the  volley  that  was  sure  to  follow.  One  daring 
lieutenant  leaped  upon  the  breastworks  and  took 
a  rifle  that  was  handed  up  to  him  and  fired  it  into 
the  masses  of  the  Confederate  soldiers  behind. 
Another  one  was  handed  up  and  he  fired  that  and 
was  about  aiming  with  a  third  when  he  was  rid  ■ 


160    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

died  with  a  volley  and  pitched  headlong  among 
the  enemy. 

A  little  later  a  party  of  discouraged  Confeder- 
ates raised  a  piece  of  a  white  shelter  tent  above 
the  works  as  a  flag  of  truce  and  offered  to  sur 
render.  The  Union  soldiers  called  on  them  to  j ump 
over.  They  sprang  on  the  breastworks  and  hesi- 
tated a  moment  at  the  sight  of  so  many  leveled 
guns.  That  moment  was  fatal  to  them  for  their 
comrades  in  the  rear  poured  a  volley  into  them, 
killing  nearly  every  one. 

All  day  long  the  battle  raged.  Different  breast- 
works in  the  same  fortifications  flaunted  different 
flags.  Gradually,  however,  all  along  the  line  the 
firing  and  the  fighting  concentrated  at  the  Angle. 
The  head  logs  there  were  so  cut  and  torn  that 
they  looked  like  brooms.  So  heavy  was  the  fire 
that  several  large  oak  trees  twenty-two  inches  in 
diameter  back  of  the  works  were  gnawed  down 
by  the  bullets  and  fell,  injuring  some  of  the  South 
Carolina  troops.  Toward  dusk  the  Union  troops 
were  nearly  exhausted.  Each  man  had  fired  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred  rounds.  Their  lips 
were  black  and  bleeding  from  biting  cartridge. 
Their  shoulders  and  hands  were  coated  and  black 


THE  BLOODY  ANGLE  161 

with  grime  and  powder-dust.  As  soon  as  it  be- 
came dark  they  dropped  in  the  knee-deep  mud 
from  utter  exhaustion.  But  they  held.  Grimly, 
sternly  they  held.  All  the  long  night  through 
they  fired  away  at  the  breastworks.  The  trenches 
on  the  right  of  the  Angle  ran  red  with  Union 
blood  and  had  to  be  cleared  many  a  time  of  the 
piles  of  dead  bodies  which  choked  them.  At  last, 
a  little  after  midnight,  sullenly  and  slowly  the 
Confederate  forces  drew  back  and  the  half-moon 
and  the  Bloody  Angle  were  left  in  possession  of 
the  Union  forces.  The  seven  days'  hammering 
and  the  twenty  hours  of  holding  had  won  the 
fierce  and  bloody  Battle  of  the  Wilderness. 


CHAPTER  IX 
Heroes  of  Gettysburg 


CHAPTER  IX 
HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG 

HEROES  are  not  made  of  different  stuff  from 
ordinary  men.  God  made  us  all  heroes  at  heart. 
Satan  lied  when  he  said  "  all  that  a  man  hath  will 
he  give  for  his  life."  The  call  comes  and  com- 
monplace men  and  workaday  women  give  their 
lives  as  a  very  little  thing  for  a  cause,  for  an  ideal, 
or  for  others.  When  the  great  moment  comes, 
the  love  and  courage  and  unselfishness  that  lie 
deep  in  the  souls  of  all  of  us  can  flash  forth  into 
beacon-lights  of  brave  deeds  which  will  stand 
throughout  the  years  pointing  the  path  of  high 
endeavor  for  those  who  come  after. 

Women  the  world  over  will  never  forget  how 
Mrs.  Strauss  came  back  from  the  life-boat  and 
went  down  on  the  Titanic  with  her  husband 
rather  than  have  him  die  alone. 

Boys  have  been  braver  and  tenderer  their  lives 
long  because  of  the  unknown  hero  at  Niagara. 
With  his  mother  he  was  trapped  on  a  floe  when 
the  ice-jam  broke.     Slowly  and  sternly  it  moved 


166    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

toward  the  roaring-  edge  of  the  cataract.  From 
the  Suspension  Bridge  a  rope  was  let  down  to 
them.  Twice  he  tried  to  fix  it  around  his  mother, 
but  she  was  too  old  and  weak  to  hold  on.  The 
floe  was  passing  beyond  the  bridge  and  there  was 
just  time  for  him  to  knot  the  rope  around  himself. 
Young,  active  and  strong,  he  would  be  safe  in  a 
moment,  but  his  mother  would  go  to  death  de- 
serted and  alone.  He  tossed  the  rope  away,  put 
his  arm  around  his  old  mother  and  they  went 
over  the  Falls  together. 

Every  American  sailor  has  been  braver  and 
gentler  from  the  memory  of  Captain  Craven  who 
commanded  the  monitor  Tecumseh  when  Fighting 
Farragut  destroyed  the  forts  and  captured  the 
Rebel  fleet  at  Mobile  Bay.  The  Tecumseh  was 
about  to  grapple  with  the  Tennessee,  the  great 
Rebel  ram,  when  she  struck  a  torpedo,  turned 
over  and  went  down  bow  foremost.  Captain 
Craven  was  in  the  pilot-house  with  the  pilot.  As 
the  vessel  sank  they  both  rushed  for  the  narrow 
door.  Craven  reached  it  first,  but  stood  aside 
saying,  "  After  you,  pilot."  The  latter  leaped 
through  as  the  water  rushed  in  and  was  saved. 
Craven  went  down  with  his  ship. 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  167 

The  great  moments  which  are  given  to  men  in 
which  to  decide  whether  they  are  to  be  heroes  or 
cowards  may  come  at  any  time,  but  they  always 
flash  through  every  battle.  Danger,  suffering  and 
death  are  the  stern  tests  by  which  men's  real 
selves  are  discovered.  A  man  can't  do  much  pre- 
tending when  he  is  under  fire,  and  he  can't  make 
believe  he  is  brave  or  unselfish,  or  chivalric  when 
he  is  sick,  or  wounded,  or  dying.  We  can  be 
proud  that  the  man  who  went  before  us  made 
good  and  that  we  can  remember  all  the  great  bat- 
tles of  the  greatest  of  our  wars  by  the  brave  deeds 
of  brave  men. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  Civil  War.  Lee  with  seventy 
thousand  men  was  pouring  into  the  North.  If  he 
defeated  Meade  and  the  Union  Army,  Washing- 
ton, the  capital,  would  fall.  Even  Philadelphia 
and  New  York  would  be  threatened.  In  three 
days  of  terrible  fighting,  thirty  thousand  men 
were  killed.  In  one  of  the  charges  one  regiment, 
the  1st  Minnesota,  lost  eighty-two  per  cent,  of  its 
men — more  than  twice  as  many  as  the  famous 
Light  Brigade  lost  at  Balaclava.  Pickett's  charge 
of  fifteen  thousand  men  over  nearly  a  mile  and  a 


168    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

half  against  the  hill  which  marked  the  center  of  the 
Union  lines  was  one  of  the  greatest  charges  in  his- 
tory. When  the  Confederates  were  driven  back, 
two-thirds  of  the  charging  party  had  been  killed 
or  wounded.  It  was  the  crisis  of  the  war.  If  that 
charge  went  home  Gettysburg  was  lost,  the  Union 
Army  would  become  a  rabble  and  the  whole 
strength  of  the  Confederate  forces  would  pass  on 
into  the  North.  On  the  Union  batteries  depended 
the  whole  fate  of  the  army.  If  they  could  keep 
up  a  fire  to  the  last  moment,  the  charge  must  fail. 
Otherwise  the  picked  thousands  of  the  Con- 
federate Army  would  break  the  center  of  the 
Union  forces  and  the  battle  would  be  lost.  Lee 
gathered  together  one  hundred  and  fifteen  guns 
and  directed  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell  against  the 
Union  batteries  as  his  regiments  charged  up  the 
hill.  On  the  very  crest  was  a  battery  commanded 
by  young  Cushing,  a  brother  of  Lieutenant  W.  B. 
Cushing,  who  drove  a  tiny  torpedo  launch  over  a 
boom  of  logs  under  the  fire  of  forts,  troops  and 
iron-clads  and  destroyed  the  great  Confederate 
iron-clad  Albemarle.  This  Cushing  was  of  the 
same  fighting  breed.  During  the  battle  he  was 
shot  through  both  thighs  but  would  not  leave  his 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  169 

post  though  suffering  agonies  from  the  wounds. 
When  the  charge  began  he  fought  his  battery  as 
fast  as  the  guns  could  be  loaded  and  fired  and  his 
grape-shot  and  canister  mowed  down  the  charg- 
ing Confederates  by  the  hundred.  In  spite  of 
tremendous  losses  the  Rebels  rushed  up  the  hill 
firing  as  they  came  and  so  fierce  was  their  fire 
and  that  of  the  Confederate  batteries  that  of  the 
Union  officers  in  command  of  the  batteries  just  in 
front  of  the  charge,  all  but  two  were  struck.,  But 
the  men  kept  up  the  fire  to  the  very  last.  As 
what  was  left  of  the  Confederates  topped  the  hill, 
a  shell  struck  the  wounded  Cushing  tearing  him 
almost  in  two.  He  held  together  his  mangled 
body  with  one  hand  and  with  the  other  fired  his 
last  gun  and  fell  dead  just  as  the  Confederates 
reached  the  stone  wall  on  the  crest.  They  were 
so  shattered  by  his  fire  that  they  were  unable  to 
hold  the  hill  and  were  driven  back  and  the  battle 
won  for  the  Union. 

Old  John  Burns  was  another  one  of  the  many 
heroes  of  Gettysburg.  John  was  over  seventy 
years  old  when  the  battle  was  fought  and  lived  in 
a  little  house  in  the  town  of  Gettysburg  with  his 
wife  who  was   nearly  as   old  as  he.     Burns  had 


170    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

fought  in  the  war  of  1812  and  began  to  get  more 
and  more  uneasy  every  day  as  the  battle  was 
joined  at  different  points  near  where  he  was  liv- 
ing. The  night  before  the  last  day  of  the  battle 
the  old  man  went  out  to  get  his  cow  and  found 
that  a  foraging  band  of  Confederates  had  driven 
her  off.  This  was  the  last  straw.  The  next  day 
regiment  after  regiment  of  the  Confederate  forces 
marched  past  his  house  and  the  old  man  took 
down  his  flintlock  musket  which  had  done  good 
service  against  the  British  in  181 2  and  began  to 
melt  lead  and  run  bullets  through  his  little  old 
bullet  mould.  Mrs.  Burns  had  been  watching  him 
uneasily  for  some  time. 

"  John,  what  in  the  world  are  you  doing  there  ?  " 
she  finally  asked. 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  I  thought  I  would  fix  up  the 
old  gun  and  get  some  bullets  ready  in  case  any  of 
the  boys  might  want  to  use  it.  There's  goin'  to 
be  some  fightin'  and  it's  just  as  well  to  get 
ready.  There  ain't  a  piece  in  the  army  that 
will  shoot  straighter  than  Betsy  here,"  and  the 
old  man  patted  the  long  stock  of  the  musket 
affectionately. 

"  Well,"  said  his  wife,  "  you  see  that  you  keep 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  171 

out  of  it.  You  know  if  the  Rebs  catch  you  fightin' 
in  citizens'  clothes,  they'll  hang  you  sure." 

"  Don't  you  worry  about  me,"  said  John.  "  I 
helped  to  lick  the  British  and  I  ain't  afraid  of  a  lot 
of  Rebels." 

Finally  the  long  procession  of  Confederate 
forces  passed  and  for  an  hour  or  so  the  road  was 
empty  and  silent.  At  last  in  the  distance  sounded 
the  roll  and  rattle  of  drums  and  through  a  great 
cloud  of  dust  flamed  the  stars  and  stripes  and  in  a 
moment  the  road  was  filled  with  solid  masses  of 
blue-clad  troops  hurrying  to  their  positions  on 
what  was  to  be  one  of  the  great  battle-fields  of  the 
world.  As  regiment  after  regiment  filed  past,  old 
John  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He  grabbed  his 
musket  and  started  out  the  door. 

"  John  !  John  !  Where  are  you  going  ?  " 
screamed  his  wife,  running  after  him.  "  Ain't  you 
old  enough  to  know  better  ?  " 

"  I'm  just  goin'  out  to  get  a  little  fresh  air,"  said 
John,  pulling  away  from  her  and  hurrying  down 
the  street.     "  I'll  be  back  before  night  sure." 

It  was  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  when  the 
men  of  a  Wisconsin  regiment  near  the  front  saw 
a  little  old  man  approaching,  dressed  in  a  blue 


1 72    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

swallow-tail  coat  with  brass  buttons  and  carrying 
a  long  flintlock  rifle  with  a  big  powder-horn 
strapped  about  him. 

"  Hi,  there  ! "  he  piped,  when  he  saw  the  men. 
"  I  want  to  jine  in.     Where'll  I  go  ?  " 

The  men  laughed  at  the  sight. 

"  Anywhere,"  shouted  back  one  of  them ; 
"there's  good  fightin'  all  along  the  line." 

"Well,"  said  John,  "I  guess  I'll  stop  here," 
and  in  spite  of  their  attempts  to  keep  him  back, 
he  crept  up  until  he  was  at  the  very  front  of 
the  skirmish  line.  There  was  a  lull  in  the 
fighting  just  then  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
joking  up  and  down  the  line  between  the  men 
and  John. 

"  Say,  grandpa,"  called  out  one,  "  did  you  fight 
in  the  Revolution  ?  " 

"  Have  you  ever  hit  anything  with  that  old  gun 
of  yours  ?  "  said  another. 

But  John  was  able  to  hold  his  own. 

"  Sure  I  fought  in  the  Revolution,"  he  piped 
loudly,  "  and  as  for  hittin'  anything,  say,  boys,  do 
you  know  that  at  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  I  had 
sixty-two  bullets  in  my  pocket.  I  had  been 
loadin'  and  firm'  fifty  times  and  I  had  shot  forty- 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  173 

nine  British  officers  when  suddenly  I  heard  some 
one  yellin'  to  me  from  behind  our  lines  and  he 
says  to  me,  '  Hi,  there,  old  dead-shot,  don't  you 
know  that  this  is  a  battle  and  not  a  massacre  ? ' 
I  turns  around  and  right  behind  me  was  General 
George  Washington,  so  I  saluted  and  I  says, 
'  What  is  it,  General  ?  '  and  he  says,  '  You  stop 
firm'  right  away.'  '  Well,'  I  said,  '  General,  I  have 
only  got  twelve  more  bullets  ;  can't  I  shoot  those  ? ' 
'  No,'  he  says  to  me,  'you  go  home.  You've  done 
enough,'  and  he  says,  '  don't  call  me  General,  call 
me  George.'  " 

This  truthful  anecdote  was  repeated  along  the 
whole  line  and  instantly  made  John's  reputation 
as  a  raconteur.  He  was  allowed  to  establish  him- 
self at  the  front  of  the  line  and  in  a  minute,  as  the 
firing  commenced,  he  was  fighting  with  the  best 
of  them.  They  tried  to  persuade  him  to  take  a 
musket  from  one  of  the  many  dead  men  who  were 
lying  around,  but  like  David,  John  would  not  use 
any  weapon  which  he  had  not  proved.  He  stuck 
to  old  Betsy  and  although  he  did  not  make  quite 
so  good  a  record  as  at  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
according  to  his  comrades  he  accounted  for  no 
less  than  three  Confederates,  one  of  whom  was  an 


174    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

officer.  Before  the  day  was  over  he  received 
three  wounds.  Toward  evening  there  was  an 
overwhelming  rush  of  the  Confederates  which 
drove  back  the  Union  soldiers  and  the  Wisconsin 
regiment  fell  back  leaving  poor  old  John  lying 
there  among  the  other  wounded.  He  was  in  a 
dilemma.  Although  his  cuts  were  only  flesh- 
wounds,  yet  he  would  bleed  to  death  unless  they 
were  properly  dressed.  On  the  other  hand  if  he 
was  found  by  the  Rebels  in  civilian  clothes  with 
his  rifle,  he  would  undoubtedly  be  shot  according 
to  military  law.  The  old  man  could  not,  however, 
bear  the  thought  of  parting  with  old  Betsy,  so  he 
crawled  groaningly  toward  a  hollow  tree  where  he 
managed  to  hide  the  old  flint-lock  and  the 
powder-horn  and  soon  afterward  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  Confederate  patrol  which  was  going 
about  the  field  attending  to  the  wounded.  At 
first  they  were  suspicious  of  him. 

"  What  are  you  doing,  old  man,  wounded  on  a 
battle-field  in  citizens'  clothes?  "  one  of  the  officers 
asked. 

"Well,"  said  John,  "  I  was  out  lookin'  for  a  cow 
which  some  of  you  fellows  carried  off  and  first 
thing  I  knew  I  was  hit  in  three  places.     So  long 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  175 

as  you  got  my  cow,  the  least  you  can  do  is  to 
carry  me  home." 

This  seemed  fair  to  the  officer  and  a  stretcher 
was  brought  and  the  old  man  was  carried  back  to 
the  house.  His  next  fear  was  that  his  wife  would 
unconsciously  betray  him  to  the  patrol  that  were 
bringing  him  into  the  house.  Sure  enough  as 
they  reached  the  door,  old  Mrs.  Burns  came  rush- 
ing out. 

"  John,"  she  screamed,  "  I  told  you  not  to  go 
out." 

"  Shut  up,  Molly,"  bellowed  John  at  the  top  of 
his  voice.  "  I  didn't  find  the  old  cow,  but  I  did  the 
best  I  could  and  I  want  you  to  tell  these  gentle- 
men that  I  am  as  peaceable  an  old  chap  that  ever 
lived,  for  they  found  me  out  there  wounded  with  a 
lot  of  soldiers  and  think  I  may  have  been  doin' 
some  fightin'." 

Mrs.  Burns  was  no  fool. 

"  Gentlemen,"  she  cried  out,  "I  can't  thank  you 
enough  for  bringing  back  this  poor  silly  husband 
of  mine.  I  told  him  that  if  he  went  hunting  to- 
day for  cows  or  anything  else,  he  would  most  likely 
find  nothing  but  trouble,  and  I  guess  he  has. 
He's  old  enough  to  know  better,  but  you  leave 


176    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

him  here  and  I'll  nurse  him  and  try  to  get  some 
sense  into  his  head." 

So  the  patrol  left  Burns  at  his  own  house,  not 
without  some  suspicions,  for  the  next  day  an 
officer  came  around  and  put  him  through  a  severe 
cross-examination  which  John  for  the  most  part 
escaped  by  pretending  to  be  too  weak  to  answer 
any  particularly  searching  question.  Mrs.  Burns 
nursed  the  old  man  back  to  health  again  and 
never  let  a  day  go  by  without  a  number  of  im- 
pressive remarks  about  his  foolhardiness.  The 
old  man  hadn't  much  to  say,  but  the  first  day  after 
he  got  well  he  disappeared  and  came  back  an 
hour  or  so  later  with  old  Betsy  and  the  powder- 
horn  which  he  found  safe  and  sound  in  the  tree 
where  he  left  them.  These  he  hung  again  over 
the  mantelpiece  in  readiness  for  the  next  war, 
"  for,"  said  John,  "  a  man's  never  too  old  to  fight 
for  his  country." 

Another  hero  in  that  battle  was  Lieutenant  Bay- 
ard Wilkeson.  Only  nineteen  years  old  he  com- 
manded a  battery  in  an  exposed  position  on  the 
Union  right.  His  two  guns  did  so  much  damage 
that  Gordon,  the  Confederate  general,  could  not 
advance  his  troops  in  the  face  of  their  deadly  fire. 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  177 

Wilkeson  could  be  seen  on  the  far-away  hilltop 
riding  back  and  forth  encouraging  and  directing 
his  gunners. 

General  Gordon  sent  for  the  captains  of  two  of 
his  largest  batteries. 

"Train  every  gun  you've  got,"  he  said,  "on 
that  man  and  horse.  He's  doing  more  damage 
than  a  whole  Yankee  regiment." 

Quietly  the  guns  of  the  two  far-apart  positions 
were  swung  around  until  they  all  pointed  directly 
at  that  horseman  against  the  sky.  A  white  hand- 
kerchief was  waved  from  the  farthest  battery  and 
with  a  crash  every  gun  went  off.  When  the 
smoke  cleared  away,  man  and  horse  were  down, 
the  guns  dismounted  and  the  gunners  killed.  The 
Confederate  forces  swept  on  their  way  unchecked 
across  the  field  that  had  been  swept  and  winnowed 
by  Wilkeson's  deadly  guns.  As  they  went  over 
the  crest,  they  found  him  under  his  dead  horse 
and  surrounded  by  his  dead  gunners  still  alive  but 
desperately  wounded.  He  was  carried  in  to  the 
Allen  House  along  with  their  own  wounded  and 
given  what  attention  was  possible,  which  was  lit- 
tle enough.  It  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  he  was 
dying.     Suffering  from  that   choking,    desperate 


178    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

thirst  which  attacks  every  wounded  man  who  has 
lost  much  blood  he  faintly  asked  for  water.  There 
was  no  water  to  be  had,  but  finally  one  of  the  Con- 
federate officers  in  charge  managed  to  get  a  full 
canteen  off  a  passing  soldier.  Wilkeson  stretched 
out  his  hands  for  what  meant  more  to  him  than 
anything  else  in  the  world.  Just  then  a  wounded 
Confederate  soldier  next  to  him  cried  out,  "  For 
God's  sake  give  me  some." 

Wilkeson  stopped  with  the  canteen  half  to  his 
mouth  and  then  by  sheer  force  of  will  passed  it  over 
to  the  other.  In  his  agonizing  thirst  the  wounded 
Confederate  drank  every  drop  before  he  could  stop 
himself.  Horror-stricken  he  turned  to  apologize. 
The  young  lieutenant  smiled  at  him,  turned 
slightly — and  was  gone.  It  took  more  courage 
to  give  up  that  flask  of  cold  water  than  to  fight 
his  battery  against  the  whole  Confederate  Army. 

The  hero-folk  on  that  great  day  were  not  all 
men  and  boys.  Among  the  many,  many  monu- 
ments that  crowd  the  field  of  Gettysburg  there  is 
one  of  a  young  girl  carved  from  pure  translucent 
Italian  marble.  It  is  the  statue  of  Jennie  Wade, 
the  water-carrier  for  many  a  wounded  and  dying 
soldier  during  two  of  those  days  of  doom.     Al- 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  179 

though  she  knew  it  not,  Jennie  was  following  in 
the  footsteps  of  another  woman,  that  unknown 
wife  of  a  British  soldier  at  the  Battle  of  Saratoga 
in  the  far-away  Revolutionary  days.  When 
Burgoyne's  army  was  surrounded  at  Saratoga, 
some  of  the  women  and  wounded  men  were  sent 
for  safety  to  a  large  house  in  the  neighborhood 
where  they  took  refuge  in  the  cellar.  There  they 
crouched  for  six  long  days  and  nights  while  the 
cannon-balls  crashed  through  the  house  overhead. 
The  cellar  became  crowded  with  wounded  and 
dying  men  who  were  suffering  agonies  from 
thirst.  It  was  only  a  few  steps  to  the  river,  but 
the  house  was  surrounded  by  Morgan's  sharp- 
shooters and  every  man  who  ventured  out  with  a 
bucket  was  shot  dead.  At  last  the  wife  of  one  of 
the  soldiers  offered  to  go  and  in  spite  of  the 
protests  of  the  men  ventured  out.  The  American 
riflemen  would  not  fire  upon  a  woman  and  again 
and  again  she  went  down  to  the  river  and  brought 
back  water  to  the  wounded  in  safety. 

Jennie  Wade  was  a  girl  of  twenty  who  lived  in 
a  red-brick  house  right  in  the  path  of  the  battle. 
They  could  not  move  to  a  safer  place,  for  her  mar- 
ried sister  was  there  with  a  day-old  baby,  so  the 


180    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

imprisoned  family  was  in  the  thick  of  the  battle. 
Recently  when  the  old  roof  was  taken  off  to  be 
repaired,  over  two  quarts  of  bullets  were  taken 
from  it.  During  the  first  day,  Jennie's  mother 
moved  her  daughter  and  her  baby  so  that  her 
head  rested  against  the  foot  of  the  bed.  She  had 
no  more  been  moved  than  a  bullet  crashed  through 
the  window  and  struck  the  pillow  where  her  head 
had  lain  an  instant  before.  While  her  mother 
watched  her  daughter  and  the  baby,  Jennie  car- 
ried water  to  the  soldiers  on  the  firing-line.  At 
the  end  qf  the  first  day  fifteen  soldiers  lay  dead  in 
the  little  front  yard  and  all  through  that  weary 
day  and  late  into  the  night  Jennie  was  going  back 
and  forth  filling  the  canteens  of  the  wounded  and 
dying  soldiers  as  they  lay  scattered  on  that  stricken 
field.  Throughout  the  second  day  she  kept  on 
with  this  work  and  many  and  many  a  wounded 
soldier  choking  with  thirst  lived  to  bless  her 
memory.  On  this  day  a  long  procession  of  blue- 
clad  men  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  house  ask- 
ing for  bread  until  the  whole  supply  was  gone. 
After  dark  on  the  second  day,  Jennie  mixed  up  a 
pan  of  dough  and  set  it  out  to  rise.  She  got  up 
at  daybreak  and  as   she  was   lighting  a  fire,  a 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  181 

hungry  soldier-boy  knocked  at  the  door  and 
asked  for  something  to  eat.  Jennie  started  to  mix 
up  some  biscuit  and  as  she  stood  with  her  sleeves 
rolled  up  and  her  hands  in  the  dough,  a  minie 
ball  cut  through  the  door  and  she  fell  over  dead 
without  a  word.  Her  statue  stands  as  she  must 
have  appeared  during  those  first  two  days  of  bat- 
tle. In  one  hand  she  carries  a  pitcher  and  over 
her  left  arm  are  two  army-canteens  hung  by  their 
straps.  Not  the  least  of  the  heroic  ones  of  that 
battle  was  Jennie  Wade  who  died  while  thus  en- 
gaged in  homely,  helpful  services  for  her  country. 
These  are  the  stories  of  but  a  few  who  fought 
at  Gettysburg  that  men  might  be  free  and  that 
their  country  might  stand  for  righteousness.  The 
spirit  of  that  battle  has  been  best  expressed  in  a 
great  poem  by  Will  H.  Thompson  with  which  we 
end  these  stories  of  some  of  the  brave  deeds  of  the 
greatest  battle  of  the  Civil  War. 

HIGH  TIDE  AT  GETTYSBURG 

A  cloud  possessed  the  hollow  field, 
The  gathering  battle's  smoky  shield  ; 
Athwart  the  gloom  the  lightning  flashed, 
And  through  the  cloud  some  horsemen  dashed, 
And  from  the  heights  the  thunder  pealed. 


182    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Then,  at  the  brief  command  of  Lee, 
Moved  out  that  matchless  infantry, 
With  Pickett  leading  grandly  down 
To  rush  against  the  roaring  crown 
Of  those  dread  heights  of  destiny. 

Far  heard  above  the  angry  guns, 
A  cry  across  the  tumult  runs, 

The  voice  that  rang  through  Shiloh's  woods 

And  Chickamauga's  solitudes, 
The  fierce  South  cheering  on  her  sons. 

Ah,  how  the  withering  tempest  blew 

Against  the  front  of  Pettigrew  ! 

A  khamsin  wind  that  scorched  and  singed, 
Like  that  infernal  flame  that  fringed 

The  British  squares  at  Waterloo  I 

"  Once  more  in  Glory's  van  with  me  I  " 

Virginia  cries  to  Tennessee, 

"  We  two  together,  come  what  may, 
Shall  stand  upon  those  works  to-day." 

(The  reddest  day  in  history.) 

But  who  shall  break  the  guards  that  wait 

Before  the  awful  face  of  Fate  ? 

The  tattered  standards  of  the  South 
Were  shriveled  at  the  cannon's  mouth, 

And  all  her  hopes  were  desolate. 

In  vain  the  Tennesseean  set 
His  breast  against  the  bayonet ; 

In  vain  Virginia  charged  and  rageds 

A  tigress  in  her  wrath  uncaged, 
Till  all  the  hill  was  red  and  wet  I 


HEROES  OF  GETTYSBURG  183 

Above  the  bayonets  mixed  and  crossed, 
Men  saw  a  gray,  gigantic  ghost 

Receding  through  the  battle-cloud, 

And  heard  across  the  tempest  loud 
The  death-cry  of  a  nation  lost ! 

The  brave  went  down  !     Without  disgrace 

They  leaped  to  Ruin's  red  embrace ; 
They  only  heard  Fame's  thunder  wake, 
And  saw  the  dazzling  sun-burst  break 

In  smiles  on  Glory's  bloody  face  ! 

They  fell,  who  lifted  up  a  hand 

And  bade  the  sun  in  heaven  to  stand  ! 

They  smote  and  fell,  who  set  the  bars 

Against  the  progress  of  the  stars, 
And  stayed  the  march  of  Motherland. 

They  stood,  who  saw  the  future  come 
On  through  the  fight's  delirium  ! 

They  smote  and  stood,  who  held  the  hope 

Of  nations  on  that  slippery  slope 
Amid  the  cheers  of  Christendom  ! 

God  lives  !     He  forged  the  iron  will 
That  clutched  and  held  that  trembling  hill. 
God  lives  and  reigns  !     He  built  and  lent 
Those  heights  for  Freedom's  battlement, 
Where  floats  her  flag  in  triumph  still  ! 

Fold  up  the  banners  !     Smelt  the  guns  ! 
Love  rules ;  her  gentler  purpose  runs. 

A  mighty  mother  turns  in  tears 

The  pages  of  her  battle  years, 
Lamenting  all  her  fallen  sons  ! 


CHAPTER  X 
The  Lone  Scout 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  LONE  SCOUT 

Single-handed  exploits,  where  a  man  must 
depend  upon  his  own  strength  and  daring  and 
coolness,  rank  high  among  brave  deeds.  Occa- 
sionally a  man  has  confidence  enough  in  himself 
to  penetrate  alone  into  the  enemy's  country  and 
to  protect  his  life  and  do  his  endeavor  by  his  own 
craft  and  courage.  Of  such  was  Hereward,  the 
Last  of  the  English,  who,  like  Robin  Hood,  many 
centuries  later,  led  his  little  band  of  free  men 
through  fen  and  forest  and  refused  to  yield  even 
to  the  vast  resources  of  William  the  Conqueror. 
Once  disguised  as  a  swineherd  he  entered  the 
very  court  of  the  king  and  sat  with  the  other 
strangers  and  wanderers  at  the  foot  of  the  table 
in  the  great  banquet-hall  and  saw  in  the  distance 
the  man  who  was  first  to  conquer  and  then  to 
make  unconquerable  all  England.  To  this  day 
we  love  to  read  of  his  adventures  on  that  scout- 
ing trip.     How  the  servants  who  sat  at  meat  with 


188    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

him  played  rough  jokes  on  him  until,  forgetful  of 
his  enormous  strength,  he  dealt  one  of  them  a 
buffet  which  laid  him  lifeless  across  the  table  with 
a  broken  neck.  How  he  was  taken  up  to  the 
head  of  the  table  and  stood  before  William  on  an 
instant  trial  for  his  life.  His  loose  jerkin  had 
been  torn  during  the  struggle  and  showed  his 
vast  chest  and  arms  covered  with  scars  of  old 
wounds  which  no  swineherd  would  ever  have  re- 
ceived. The  old  chronicle  goes  on  to  tell  how 
they  imprisoned  him  for  the  night  and  when  his 
jailer  came  to  fetter  his  legs  with  heavy  irons,  he 
stunned  him  with  a  kick,  unlocked  the  doors  and 
gates,  broke  open  the  stable  door,  selected  the 
best  horse  in  the  king's  stable  and,  armed  with  an 
old  scythe  blade  which  he  had  picked  up  in  the 
barn,  cut  his  way  through  the  guard  and  rode  all 
night  by  the  stars  back  to  his  band. 

In  1862  Corporal  Pike  of  the  Fourth  Ohio 
Regiment  led  an  expedition  for  a  hundred  miles 
through  the  enemy's  country,  which  was  worthy 
of  Hereward  himself.  The  expedition  consisted 
of  Corporal  James  Pike,  who  held  all  positions 
from  general  to  private  and  who  also  had  charge 
of  the  commissary  department  and  was  head  of 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  189 

the  board  of  strategy.  The  corporal  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Captain  Zebulon  Pike  the  great  Indian 
fighter  and  inherited  his  ancestor's  coolness  and 
daring.  Old  Zebulon  used  to  say  that  he  never 
really  knew  what  happiness  was  until  he  was  in 
danger  of  his  life  and  that  when  he  started  into  a 
fight,  it  was  as  if  all  the  music  in  the  world  was 
playing  in  his  ears  and  that  a  battle  to  him  was 
like  a  good  dinner,  a  game  of  ball  and  a  picnic 
all  rolled  into  one.  The  corporal  was  very  much 
this  way.  He  had  taken  such  particular  pleasure 
in  foolhardy  exploits  that  his  officers  decided  to 
try  him  on  scout  duty.  There  he  did  so  well 
that  General  Mitchel's  attention  was  attracted  to 
him. 

In  April,  1862,  it  was  of  great  importance  for  the 
general's  plans  to  obtain  information  in  regard  to 
the  strength  of  the  Confederates  in  Alabama,  and 
to  have  a  certain  railroad  bridge  destroyed  so  as  to 
cut  off  the  line  of  communications  with  the  forces 
farther  south.  Out  of  the  whole  regiment  the  gen- 
eral picked  Corporal  Pike.  The  corporal's  plan  of 
procedure  was  characteristic  of  the  man.  He  wore 
his  regular  full  blue  uniform  and  throughout  the 
first  part  of  his  trip  made  no  attempt  at  disguise 


iqo    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

or  concealment.  This  was  not  as  reckless  as  it 
sounds.  The  country  was  filled  with  Confeder- 
ate spies  and  messengers  who  almost  invariably 
adopted  the  Union  uniform  and  it  had  this  advan- 
tage— if  captured,  he  could  claim  that  he  was  in  his 
regular  uniform  and  was  entitled  to  be  treated  as  a 
soldier  captured  on  the  field  of  battle  and  not  hung 
as  a  spy.  The  corporal,  however,  did  not  attach 
any  very  great  weight  to  the  protection  of  this  uni- 
form, as  he  figured  out  that  if  he  were  caught  burn- 
ing bridges  and  obtaining  reports  of  Confederate 
forces,  they  would  hang  him  whatever  the  color 
of  his  uniform.  He  had  no  adventures  until  he 
drew  near  Fayetteville  in  Tennessee.  He  spent 
the  night  in  the  woods  and  bright  and  early  the 
next  morning  rode  into  the  village  and  up  to  the 
hotel  and  ordered  breakfast  for  himself  and  a  simi- 
lar attention  for  his  horse.  The  sight  of  a  Union 
soldier  assembled  all  the  unoccupied  part  of  the 
population  and  in  a  few  minutes  there  were  three 
hundred  men  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  hotel. 
As  the  corporal  came  back  from  looking  after  his 
horse,  for  he  would  never  eat  until  he  had  seen 
that  old  Bill  was  properly  cared  for,  a  man 
stepped  up  and  inquired  his  name. 


Corporal  Pike 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  191 

"  My  name,  sir,"  said  the  corporal,  "  is  James 
Pike  of  the  Fourth  Ohio  Cavalry,  which  is  located 
at  Shelbyville.     What  can  I  do  for  you  ?  " 

There  was  a  few  moments'  silence  and  then  a 
great  laugh  went  up  as  the  crowd  decided  that 
this  was  some  Confederate  scout,  probably  one  of 
Morgan's  rangers  in  disguise. 

"  What  are  you  doing  down  here  ?  "  asked  an- 
other. 

"  I  am  down  here,"  said  Pike  coolly,  "  to  de- 
mand the  surrender  of  this  town  just  as  soon  as  I 
can  get  my  breakfast  and  find  the  mayor." 

The  crowd  laughed  loudly  again  and  the  cor- 
poral went  in  to  breakfast,  where  he  sat  at  a  table 
with  a  number  of  Confederate  officers  with  whom 
he  talked  so  mysteriously  that  they  were  fully  con- 
vinced that  he  must  be  one  of  Morgan's  right- 
hand  men.  After  breakfast  he  ordered  his  horse 
and  started  out,  first  saying  good-bye  to  the  crowd 
who  were  still  waiting  for  him. 

"  If  you're  from  the  North,"  said  one,  "  why 
don't  you  show  us  a  Yankee  trick  before  you  go  ?  " 
for  the  Southerners  were  thoroughly  convinced 
that  all  Yankees  were  sly  foxes  full  of  sudden 
schemes  and  stratagems. 


192    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  Well,  I  will  before  long,"  said  Pike,  as  he 
waved  good-bye  and  galloped  off. 

Five  miles  out  of  the  village  he  came  to  a  fork 
in  the  road  where  one  road  led  to  Decatur,  which 
was  where  the  main  Confederate  forces  were  lo- 
cated, and  the  other  to  Huntsville.  Just  as  he 
was  turning  into  the  Decatur  road,  he  saw  a 
wagon-train  coming  in  from  Huntsville  and  de- 
cided that  here  was  a  chance  for  his  promised 
Yankee  trick.     He  rode  up  to  the  first  wagon. 

"  Drive  that  wagon  up  close  to  the  fence  and 
halt,"  he  said. 

"How  long  since  you've  been  wagon-master?" 
said  the  driver,  cracking  his  whip. 

"  Ever  since  you  left  your  musket  lying  in  the 
bottom  of  the  wagon,"  said  Pike,  leveling  his  re- 
volver at  the  man's  head.  He  drove  his  wagon 
up  and  halted  it  without  a  word  and  stood  with 
his  arms  over  his  head  as  ordered  by  Pike 

One  by  one  the  other  wagons  came  up  and  the 
drivers  assumed  the  same  attitude.  Last  of  all 
there  was  a  rattle  of  hoofs  and  the  wagon-master, 
who  had  been  lingering  in  the  rear,  galloped  up. 

"What  the  devil  are  you  fellows  stopping  for?" 
he  shouted,  but  as  he  came  around  the  last  wagon, 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  193 

he  almost  ran  his  head  into  Pike's  revolver  and 
immediately  assumed  the  same  graceful  attitude 
as  the  others.  Pike  rode  up  to  each  wagon,  col- 
lected all  the  muskets,  not  forgetting  to  remove  a 
couple  of  revolvers  from  the  belt  of  the  wagon- 
master  and  then  inquired  from  the  latter  what  the 
wagons  had  in  them. 

"  Provender,"  said  the  wagon-master,  surlily. 

"What  else?"  said  the  corporal,  squinting 
along  the  barrel  of  his  revolver. 

"  Bacon,"  yelled  the  wagon-master  much 
alarmed  ;  "  four  thousand  pounds  in  each  wagon." 

"  Well,"  said  the  corporal,  "  I've  always  been 
told  that  raw  bacon  is  an  unhealthy  thing  to  eat 
and  so  you  just  unhitch  your  mules  and  set  fire  to 
these  wagons  and  be  mighty  blamed  quick  about 
it  too,  because  I  have  a  number  of  engagements 
down  the  road."  The  men  grumbled,  but  there 
was  no  help  for  them  and  in  a  few  minutes  every 
wagon  was  burning  and  crackling  and  giving  out 
dense  black  smoke.  Waiting  until  it  was  impos- 
sible to  put  them  out,  the  corporal  lined  the  men 
up  across  the  road. 

"  Now  you  fellows  get  on  your  marks  and  when 
I  count  three  you  start  back  to  Fayetteville  and  if 


194    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

you  are  in  reach  by  the  time  I  have  counted  one 
hundred,  there's  going  to  be  some  nice  round  holes 
in  the  backs  of  your  uniforms.  When  you  get 
back  to  the  village  tell  them  that  this  is  the  Yankee 
trick  that  I  promised  them." 

Before  Pike  had  counted  twenty-five  there  was 
not  a  man  in  sight.  He  at  once  turned  back  and 
raced  down  the  road  toward  Decatur.  He  had 
gone  about  ten  miles  when  he  came  to  a  small 
country  church  and  as  it  was  Sunday,  it  was  open 
and  nearly  filled.  Fearing  that  there  might  be  a 
number  of  armed  Confederate  soldiers  in  the 
church  who  would  start  out  in  pursuit  as  soon  as 
the  word  came  back  from  Fayetteville,  the  corporal 
decided  to  investigate.  Not  wishing  to  dismount 
he  rode  Bill  up  the  steps  and  through  the  open 
door  and  down  the  main  aisle,  just  as  the  minister 
was  announcing  a  hymn. 

"  Excuse  this  interruption,"  said  Pike,  as  the 
minister's  voice  quavered  off  into  silence,  "  but  I 
notice  a  number  of  soldierly-looking  men  here  and 
I  will  take  it  as  a  great  favor  if  they  will  hold  their 
hands  as  high  above  their  heads  as  possible  and 
come  down  here  and  have  a  talk  with  me." 

As  this  simple  request  was  accompanied  by  a 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  195 

revolver  aimed  at  the  audience,  one  by  one  six 
soldiers  who  had  been  attending  the  service  came 
sheepishly  down  the  aisle.  They  looked  so  funny 
straining  their  arms  over  their  heads  that  some  of 
the  girls  in  the  audience  unkindly  burst  out 
laughing.  Pike  removed  a  revolver  from  each 
one  and  dumped  his  captured  arms  into  one  of 
his  saddle-bags. 

"  Now,  parson,"  he  said,  "  I  want  to  hear  a 
good,  fervent  prayer  from  you  for  the  President 
of  the  United  States."  The  minister  hesitated. 
"  Quick  and  loud,"  said  Pike,  "  because  I'm  going 
in  a  minute." 

There  was  no  help  for  it  and  the  minister 
prayed  for  President  Lincoln  by  name,  while  Pike 
reverently  removed  his  cap.  Then  backing  his 
horse  out  of  the  door,  he  started  on  toward  De- 
catur. Not  a  half  mile  from  the  church  he  met 
two  Confederate  soldiers  who  were  leisurely  riding 
to  the  church.  There  was  no  reason  at  all  why 
the  corporal  should  meddle  with  these  men. 
They  were  two  to  one  and  he  had  no  way  of  dis- 
posing of  them  even  if  he  made  them  captives. 
However,  the  sight  of  the  Confederate  parson 
praying  for  Abe  Lincoln  had  tickled  Pike  and  he 


196    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

made  up  his  mind  to  have  some  fun  with  these 
soldiers.  As  he  came  abreast  of  them  he  whipped 
out  his  revolver,  ordered  them  to  halt  and  to  give 
their  names,  regiments  and  companies.  They  did 
so  with  great  alacrity. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  you  are  my 
prisoners  and  I  am  very  sorry  for  I  am  so  far  out- 
side of  my  lines  that  I  am  afraid  there  is  only  one 
way  to  safely  dispose  of  you." 

"Great  heavens,  man,"  said  one,  "you  don't 
mean  to  shoot  us  down." 

"I'm  sorry,"  said  Pike,  "but  you  can  see  for 
yourself  that  that's  the  only  thing  to  do.  You 
are  Rebel  soldiers  and  to  leave  you  alive  would 
mean  that  you  will  keep  on  doing  harm  to  the 
Union  forces." 

"  Don't  shoot,  captain,"  both  of  them  chorused  ; 
"  we'll  take  the  oath  of  allegiance." 

Pike  seemed  to  hesitate. 

"  Well,"  he  said  finally,  "  I  hate  to  kill  men  on 
Sunday.  I  suppose  I  ought  not  to  do  this,  but  if 
you'll  solemnly  swear  allegiance  to  the  United 
States  of  America  and  that  you'll  never  hereafter 
serve  against  the  Union  or  be  late  to  church 
again,  I'll  let  you  go." 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  197 

With  much  solemnity,  the  Confederates  took  the 
oath  in  the  form  dictated,  delivered  up  their  re- 
volvers and  rode  away. 

The  next  man  that  Pike  encountered  was  an  old 
gentleman  on  his  way  to  Fayetteville,  who  ad- 
mitted that  he  was  a  judge  and  the  next  day 
was  intending  to  serve  in  a  number  of  political 
cases  involving  the  property  of  certain  Union 
sympathizers.  Pike  made  him  also  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance,  and  promise  not  to  enter  judgment 
contrary  to  the  interests  of  the  Union.  He  then 
left  the  road  and  rode  along  a  shallow  creek 
through  the  woods.  About  sunset  he  suddenly 
came  upon  an  old  man  under  the  trees.  He 
questioned  him  and  found  that  he  was  a  Union 
sympathizer  and  was  told  by  him  that  there  were 
twelve  Tennessee  cavalrymen  and  fifteen  mounted 
citizens  on  the  lookout  for  him. 

"  That  is,"  said  the  old  man,  "  if  you're  the  chap 
that  has  been  going  around  capturing  wagon- 
trains  and  churches  and  soldiers  and  judges." 

"  That's  me,"  said  Pike. 

The  old  man  took  him  home  and  fed  him  and 
with  him  he  left  his  horse  and  started  out  on  foot, 
feeling  that  the  hue  and  cry  would  now  be  out  all 


198    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

over  the  country  against  a  mounted  man  in  Union 
uniform.  Leaving  his  friend,  he  followed  the  path 
through  the  woods  toward  Decatur  until  it  was 
dark  and  then  wrapped  himself  up  in  a  blanket 
and  slept  all  night  in  the  pouring  rain.  In  the 
morning  he  made  his  way  toward  the  railway  and 
followed  it  until  about  ten  o'clock  when  he  stopped 
at  a  house  and  bought  a  breakfast.  He  had  not 
been  there  long  before  he  was  joined  by  several 
Confederate  cavalrymen. 

"  What's  your  business,"  said  one,  "  and  what 
are  you  doing  in  that  uniform  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Pike,  "  I  was  told  to  wear  it  and 
not  to  tell  any  one  my  business  until  it  was  done 
and  if  you  fellows  don't  like  it,  you  had  better  take 
it  up  with  the  general." 

Once  again  the  Confederates  concluded  that  he 
was  on  some  secret  mission.  They  insisted,  how- 
ever, on  taking  him  to  camp  with  them  and  there 
he  stayed  two  days  and  nights,  incidentally  ob- 
taining all  the  information  possible  as  to  the  forces 
and  the  guard  about  the  bridge.  Just  before  dawn 
on  the  second  morning,  he  managed  to  give  them 
the  slip  and  started  across  country,  wading  and 
swimming  and  toiling  through  one  swamp  after 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  199 

another  until  he  finally  reached  the  river  bank, 
traveling  only  by  night  and  sleeping  by  day. 
Along  this  bank  he  went  for  miles  until  finally  he 
found  concealed  in  a  little  creek  a  small  rowboat 
which  was  tied  to  a  tree  and  in  which  were  two 
oars.  He  spent  the  better  part  of  the  day  in  load- 
ing this  up  with  pine  knots  and  bits  of  dry  drift- 
wood which  he  planned  to  use  in  firing  the  bridge. 
Just  at  evening  he  pushed  off  into  the  middle 
of  the  river  and  started  again  down  for  the 
bridge.  He  had  found  by  his  inquiries  that  the 
Confederate  camp  was  located  on  a  bank  some 
distance  from  the  bridge,  as  no  one  expected  any 
attack  there  so  far  within  the  Confederate  lines. 
All  night  long  he  tugged  at  the  oars  and  aided 
by  the  current  reached  the  bridge  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  bridge  was  an  old- 
fashioned  one  erected  on  three  piers.  Pike  made 
a  careful  survey  of  the  whole  length  of  the  bridge 
from  the  river  and  found  it  absolutely  unguarded 
although  he  could  hear  the  sentry  call  on  the  hill 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  where  the  troops  were 
encamped  by  the  town.  Concealing  his  skiff  un- 
der an  overhanging  tree,  he  toiled  up  to  the 
bridge  with  armful  after  armful  of  fire-wood.     At 


200    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

each  end  and  in  the  middle  he  made  a  little  heap 
of  fat-wood  and  pine  knots  with  a  strip  of  birch- 
bark,  which  burns  like  oiled  paper,  underneath 
each.  Starting  from  the  far  end,  he  lit  the  first 
two  piles  and  by  the  time  he  had  crossed  and  was 
working  on  the  last,  he  could  hear  the  flames 
roaring  behind  him  as  they  caught  the  dry 
weather-beaten  planking  of  the  bridge.  And 
now  he  made  a  mistake  which  was  to  prove  well- 
nigh  fatal  to  him.  As  soon  as  the  fire  had  ob- 
tained a  headway,  he  should  have  instantly  stolen 
back  up  the  river  in  his  skiff.  In  his  anxiety  to 
make  a  thorough  job  of  it  he  stayed  too  long, 
forgetting  that  in  the  bright  light  of  the  fire  every 
motion  he  made  would  be  plainly  visible  from  the 
hilltop.  Suddenly  he  heard  the  alarm  given  from 
the  camp  and  almost  instantly  it  was  followed  by 
the  wail  of  a  minie  ball  as  the  sentry  above  fired 
down  upon  him.  By  this  time  the  river  was  as 
bright  as  day  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  both  sides 
of  the  bridge.  Near  the  Confederate  camp  were 
a  number  of  boats  and  Pike  was  already  nearly 
exhausted  by  his  long  row  and  his  work  in  firing 
the  bridge.  He  heard  the  shouts  of  men  as  they 
dashed  down  for  their  boats.     If  he  attempted  to 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  201 

escape  by  water  he  was  certain  to  be  over- 
taken. Another  bullet  close  to  his  head  decided 
him  and  he  dashed  down  from  the  bridge  into 
the  road,  and  plunged  into  the  thick  woods  on 
the  farther  side.  All  the  rest  of  that  night  and 
through  the  first  part  of  the  next  day  he  traveled, 
following  one  path  after  another  and  keeping  his 
general  direction  by  a  pocket  compass.  By  noon 
he  was  so  tired  that  if  it  had  been  to  save  his  life 
he  could  not  have  gone  any  farther.  The  little 
stock  of  provisions  which  he  had  carried  with  him 
had  been  exhausted  the  night  before  and  he  threw 
himself  on  a  bed  of  dry  pine-needles  under  a  long- 
leafed  pine  which  stood  on  the  top  of  a  little  knoll 
and  lay  there  for  nearly  an  hour  until  part  of  his 
strength  came  back.  The  first  thing  to  do  was  to 
find  something  to  eat.  Pike  did  not  dare  shoot 
anything  with  his  revolver,  even  if  there  had  been 
anything  to  shoot,  for  fear  of  attracting  the  atten- 
tion of  Confederate  pursuers  or  bushwhackers.  It 
was  now  that  the  corporal's  wood-craft  proved  to 
be  as  valuable  as  his  scout-craft.  If  he  were  to 
go  further,  he  must  have  food  and  he  commenced 
to  wander  back  and  forth  through  the  woods,  his 
quick  eye  taking  in  everything  on  the  ground  or 


202    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

among  the  trees.  On  the  other  side  of  the  knoll 
where  he  had  been  lying,  he  noticed  a  rotten  log 
where  the  dry,  punky  wood  had  been  scattered  as 
if  a  hen  had  been  scratching  there.  Pike  com- 
menced to  look  carefully  all  along  the  ground 
and  finally  just  on  the  edge  of  the  slope  where 
the  thick  underbrush  began,  he  nearly  stepped  on 
a  large  brown  speckled  bird  so  much  the  color  of 
the  leaves  that  if  he  had  not  been  looking  for  it, 
he  never  would  have  discovered  the  nest.  The 
bird  slipped  into  the  underbrush  like  a  shadow, 
leaving  behind  fifteen  brown,  mottled  partridge 
eggs.  The  corporal  sat  down  over  the  nest  and 
gulped  down,  one  after  the  other,  those  eggs,  warm 
from  the  breast  of  the  brooding  bird.  As  he  said 
afterward,  never  had  he  tasted  anything  half  so 
good.  This  was  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  but 
even  fifteen  partridge  eggs  are  not  enough  for  a 
man  who  hadn't  eaten  for  nearly  thirty  hours. 
Once  again  he  began  to  prowl  restlessly  through 
the  woods  and  this  time  his  attention  was  at- 
tracted by  something  growing  on  the  side  of  a 
dead  maple  stub.  It  was  dark  red  and  looked 
like  a  great  tongue  sticking  out  from  the  bark. 
To  his  great  joy,  Pike  recognized  it  at  once  as 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  203 

the  beefsteak  mushroom.  It  was  a  magnificent 
specimen  which  must  have  weighed  nearly  two 
pounds  and  as  he  pulled  it  off  from  the  tree,  red 
drops  oozed  out  and  it  looked  and  smelled  like 
a  big,  fresh  beefsteak.  The  corporal  went  down 
the  hollow  into  the  thickest  part  of  the  swamp  and 
there  picked  an  armful  of  perfectly  dry  cedar  and 
scrub-oak  twigs  which  burn  with  a  clear,  smoke- 
less flame.  Out  of  these  he  built  a  little  Indian 
cooking  fire  by  arranging  the  twigs  into  the  form 
of  a  little  tepee  so  that  a  jet  of  clear  flame  came 
up  with  hardly  a  sign  of  any  smoke.  It  was  the 
work  of  only  a  moment  to  whittle  and  set  up  a 
forked  stick  and  to  fasten  a  slab  of  that  meaty- 
looking  fungus  on  a  spit  fixed  in  the  fork.  Fortu- 
nately he  had  left  in  his  haversack  a  little  salt  and 
pepper  with  which  he  seasoned  the  broiling,  hiss- 
ing steak.  In  about  ten  minutes  it  was  done  to  a 
turn.  Cutting  a  long  strip  of  bark  from  off  one  of 
the  red  river-birches  which  grew  near,  Pike  squat- 
ted down  on  the  ground  and  in  fifteen  minutes 
more  there  was  nothing  left  of  that  savory,  two- 
pound,  broiled  vegetable  steak.  With  fifteen  eggs 
and  two  pounds  of  beefsteak  mushroom  under 
his  belt,  the  corporal  felt  like  another  man.     He 


204    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

coiled  himself  up  on  the  dry  pine-needles  in  a  lit- 
tle hollow  which  he  found  under  the  low-hanging 
boughs  of  a  long-leaf  pine  and  resolved  to  take  a 
sleep  to  make  up  for  what  he  had  lost  during  the 
last  two  nights.  It  was  early  afternoon  and  every- 
thing was  still  and  hot  and  the  drowsy  scent  of 
the  pine  mingled  with  puffs  of  spicy  fragrance 
from  the  great  white  blossoms  of  the  magnolia 
with  which  the  woods  were  starred.  As  he  fell 
asleep  the  last  thing  the  corporal  heard  was  the 
drowsy  call  of  flocks  of  golden-winged  warblers 
on  their  way  north.  How  long  he  slept  he  could 
not  tell.  He  only  knew  that  he  awoke  with 
a  sudden  consciousness  of  danger,  that  strange 
sixth  sense  which  most  Indians  and  a  few  white 
hunters  sometimes  develop.  Perhaps  he  inher- 
ited it  from  old  Zebulon  Pike  who,  like  Daniel 
Boone  and  Kit  Carson,  had  the  power  of  hearing 
and  sensing  the  approach  of  an  enemy  even 
in  their  soundest  sleep.  The  corporal  was  alert 
the  second  he  opened  his  eyes,  but  made  not  a 
movement  or  a  rustle.  The  sun  was  well  down 
in  the  sky  and  there  was  nothing  in  sight,  but  the 
birds  had  stopped  singing.  Finally  way  down 
through  the  little  tunnel  which  a  near-by  flowing 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  205 

stream  had  made  through  the  hillocks  came  a 
sound  which  brought  him  to  his  feet  in  an  instant. 
It  was  a  ringing  note  that  chimed  like  a  distant 
bell.  Three  times  it  sounded  and  there  was 
silence,  then  again  three  times,  but  a  little  nearer 
and  louder,  then  again  silence.  A  third  time  it 
came  and  this  time  it  seemed  around  the  bend  of 
the  bayou  not  half  a  mile  away.  Pike  knew  in  a 
minute  what  it  was.  It  was  the  bay  of  the  dreaded 
bloodhounds,  those  man-hunters  who  had  learned 
to  trail  their  prey  through  forest  and  fen,  no  matter 
how  much  he  doubled  nor  how  fast  he  ran.  There 
was  but  one  thing  to  do  if  there  was  time.  Spring- 
ing up,  the  corporal  ran  down  to  the  little  stream 
and  leaped  in.  It  was  hardly  up  to  his  knees,  but 
he  splashed  along  for  a  hundred  yards,  now  and 
then  plunging  in  up  to  his  waist.  It  ran  a  hundred 
yards  or  so  through  the  swamp  and  then  emptied 
into  a  larger  bayou.  Along  this  Pike  swam  for 
his  life  as  silently  as  a  muskrat,  for  now  he  could 
hear  the  baying  of  the  dogs  close  at  hand  and 
suddenly  there  was  a  chorus  of  deep  raging  barks 
followed  by  shouts  and  he  knew  that  his  pursuers 
had  found  his  lair  under  the  pine  trees.  Soon  the 
stream  ran    into  another  one  and   then  another 


206    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

until  Pike  had  swam  and  waded  and  plunged 
through  half  a  score  of  brooks  which  made  a 
regular  network  through  the  middle  of  the  swamp. 
By  this  time  the  sound  of  the  dogs  had  died  far 
away  in  the  distance  and  he  had  every  reason  to 
believe  that  he  had  thrown  them  off  the  track. 
Down  the  last  stream  there  was  a  deep,  sluggish 
creek  nearly  fifty  feet  wide.  He  swam  until  he 
could  go  no  farther.  It  opened  out  into  a  series 
of  swampy  meadows  and  to  his  joy  he  saw  in  the 
very  midst  of  the  swamp  through  which  it  ran  a 
pile  of  newly-split  rails.  Swimming  over  to  this 
he  found  that  they  had  been  piled  on  a  little  island 
about  five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  swamp  and 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  masses  of  underbrush 
and  deep  sluggish  water.  By  this  time  it  was 
nearly  sunset  and  he  resolved  to  crawl  up  here 
and  find  a  dry  place  and  spend  the  night  on  this 
island,  which  could  not  be  approached  except  by 
boat.  As  he  climbed  up  to  the  top  of  the  mass 
of  rails,  he  heard  a  low,  thick  hiss  close  to  his 
face  and  outstretched  hand.  He  had  never  heard 
the  sound  before,  but  no  man  born  needs  to  be 
taught  the  voice  of  the  serpent.  He  started  back 
just  in  time.     Coiled  on  one  of  the  rails  was  a 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  207 

great  cotton-mouth  moccasin  whose  bloated 
swollen  body  must  have  been  nearly  five  feet  in 
length  and  as  big  around  as  his  arm.  The  great 
creature  slowly  opened  its  mouth,  showing  the 
pure  white  lining  which  has  given  it  the  name 
and  hissed  again  menacingly.  The  corporal  was 
in  a  predicament.  Behind  him  was  the  cold,  dark 
river  in  which  he  no  longer  had  the  strength  to 
swim.  In  the  approaching  darkness,  he  might 
not  be  able  to  find  any  other  island  of  refuge  on 
which  to  pass  the  night.  There  was  nothing  for 
him  but  to  fight  the  grim  snake  for  the  possession 
of  the  rails.  He  dropped  back  and  twisted  off  the 
thick  branch  of  a  near-by  willow-tree  and  began 
again  to  climb  up  toward  the  snake  cautiously, 
but  as  rapidly  as  possible,  for  the  light  was  begin- 
ning to  die  out  in  the  sky  and  Pike  preferred  not 
to  do  his  fighting  in  the  dark  in  this  case  if  pos- 
sible. As  he  reached  the  top  of  the  pile,  the  king 
of  the  island  was  ready  for  him  and  struck 
viciously  at  him  as  he  approached.  The  movable 
poison  fangs  protruded  like  poisoned  spear-heads 
from  the  wide-open  mouth  and  from  them  could 
be  seen  oozing  the  yellow  drops  of  the  fatal  venom 
which  makes  the  cotton-mouth  more  dreaded  even 


208    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

than  the  rattler  or  the  copperhead.  The  fatal  head 
flashed  out  not  six  inches  from  Corporal  Pike's 
face,  but  it  had  miscalculated  the  distance  and  be- 
fore it  could  again  coil,  he  had  struck  with  all  his 
might  at  the  monstrous  body  just  where  it  joined 
the  heart-shaped  head.  Fortunately  for  him,  his 
aim  was  good  and  the  crippled  snake  writhed 
and  hissed  and  struck  in  vain  in  a  horrible  mass 
at  Pike's  feet.  Two  more  blows  made  it  harmless 
and  inserting  the  stick  under  the  heavy  body,  the 
corporal  heaved  it  far  over  into  the  water  and  it 
floated  away.  Pike  then  made  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  rails  and  the  island  on  which  he 
stood  so  as  to  make  sure  that  the  moccasin  had 
not  left  any  of  his  family  behind.  He  found  no 
others,  however,  and  before  it  was  dark  the  cor- 
poral moved  the  rails  and  piled  them  around  him 
in  a  kind  of  barricade  which  shut  him  off  from 
view  from  the  water  and  shore  and  which  he  sin- 
cerely hoped  would  discourage  the  visits  of  any 
more  moccasins.  Inside  of  this  he  laid  three  rails 
lengthwise  and  wrung  out  his  sodden  coat  and 
coiled  up  for  the  night  on  his  hard  bed.  He  woke 
up  surrounded  by  the  gleaming  mist  of  the  early 
morning  and  shaking  with  the  cold  after  sleeping 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  209 

all  night  in  his  soaked  clothing.  As  he  was  too 
cold  to  sleep  and  it  was  light  enough  now  to  see, 
he  decided  to  start  ofl  for  dry  land  again.  For 
over  two  hours  he  swam  and  waded  along  big 
and  little  bayous  until,  just  as  the  sun  was  getting 
up,  he  came  out  through  the  morass  and  found 
himself  at  the  rear  of  a  lonely  plantation.  Just 
in  front  of  him  an  old  negro  was  at  work  hoe- 
ing in  a  field.  The  corporal  crept  up  near  him 
through  the  bushes  and  looked  all  around  cau- 
tiously to  see  whether  there  were  any  white  men 
in  sight.  Seeing  none,  he  decided  to  take  a. 
chance  on  the  negro  being  friendly. 

"  Hi,  there,  uncle  I "  he  called  cautiously  from 
behind  a  little  bush. 

The  old  man  jumped  a  foot  in  the  air. 

"That  settles  it,"  he  observed  emphatically  to 
himself,  "  I'se  gwine  home.  This  old  nigger  ain't 
gwine  to  work  in  any  swamp  whar  he  hears  hants 
callin'  him  '  uncle.'  " 

At  this  point  the  corporal  came  out  of  his  hid- 
ing place  and  finally  managed  to  convince  the  old 
man  that  he  was  nothing  worse  than  very  hungry 
flesh  and  blood.  The  old  darkey  turned  out  to  be 
a  friend  indeed  and  going  to  his  cabin  in  less  than 


210    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

fifteen  minutes  he  was  back  with  a  big  pan  full  of 
bacon  and  corn  bread  which  the  corporal  emptied 
in  record-breaking  time.  Moreover,  he  brought 
his  son  with  him  who  promised  to  guide  Pike 
by  safe  paths  to  the  road  which  led  to  Huntsville 
where  General  Mitchel  had  located  his  headquar- 
ters. Hour  after  hour  the  two  wound  in  and  out  of 
swamps  which  would  have  been  impassable  to  any 
one  who  did  not  know  the  hidden  trails  which 
crossed  them.  Twice  they  heard  Confederate 
soldiers,  evidently  still  hunting  for  the  Union 
soldier  who  had  been  making  them  so  much 
trouble.  Toward  noon  they  came  to  a  broad 
bayou  which  went  in  and  out  through  the  swamp. 
At  one  point  where  it  approached  the  bend  it  be- 
came very  narrow  and  Pike's  guide  showed  him  a 
fallen  tree  half  hidden  in  the  brush. 

"  Cross  that,  boss,"  he  said,  "  and  at  the  other 
end  you'll  find  a  little  hard  path.  Follow  that  and 
you'll  come  out  clear  down  on  the  Huntsville  road, 
only  a  few  miles  from  the  Union  soldiers." 

Pike  said  good-bye  to  his  faithful  guide  and 
gave  him  one  of  the  numerous  Confederate  re- 
volvers which  he  had  captured  on  his  trip  as  the 
only  payment  he  could  make  for  his  kindness. 


THE  LONE  SCOUT  211 

The  corporal  found  the  path  all  right  and  was  soon 
wearily  trudging  along  the  Huntsville  road.  He 
had  not  gone  far  before  he  was  overtaken  by  another 
negro  dressed  in  a  style  which  would  have  made  the 
lilies  of  the  field  take  to  the  woods.  With  his  pan- 
ama  hat,  red  tie  and  checked  suit,  he  made  a  brave 
show.  What  impressed  the  corporal,  however,  more 
than  his  clothes  was  the  fact  that  he  was  driving  a 
magnificent  horse  attached  to  a  brand-new  buggy. 

"  Stop  a  minute,"  said  Pike,  stepping  out  into 
the  road. 

"  No,"  said  the  negro,  pompously,  "  I'se  in  a 
great  hurry." 

The  corporal  whipped  out  a  revolver  and 
cocked  it. 

"  Come  to  think  of  it,  Massa,"  said  the  darkey 
in  quite  a  different  tone,  "  I'se  got  plenty  of  time 
after  all." 

"  Whose  horse  is  this  ? "  said  the  corporal, 
climbing  into  the  buggy. 

"  This  is  Mistah  Pomeroy's  property,"  said  the 
negro  with  much  dignity. 

"  Well,"  said  the  corporal,  "  you  turn  right 
around  and  drive  me  to  General  Mitchel's  camp 
just  as  fast  as  the  law  will  let  you." 


212  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  But,  boss,"  objected  the  other,  "  Massa  will 
whip  me  if  I  do." 

"And  I'll  shoot  you  if  you  don't,"  returned  the 
corporal. 

This  last  argument  was  a  convincing  one  and 
half  an  hour  later  General  Mitchel  and  his  forces 
were  enormously  impressed  by  seeing  Corporal 
Pike,  who  had  been  reported  shot,  drive  up  back 
of  a  magnificent  horse  in  a  new  buggy  and  beside 
a  wonderfully-dressed  coachman.  The  general 
was  even  more  impressed  when  the  corporal  re- 
ported that  the  bridge  was  gone  and  gave  him  an 
accurate  statement  as  to  the  Confederate  forces. 

Corporal  Pike  found  Mr.  Pomeroy's  horse  a  very 
good  substitute  for  his  faithful  Bill  and,  to  his  sur- 
prise, the  coachman  went  with  the  horse,  since 
he  was  afraid  to  go  back,  and  became  a  cook  in 
General  Mitchel's  mess. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Running  the  Gauntlet 


CHAPTER  XI 
RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET 

In  the  old  days  of  the  Indian  wars  a  favorite 
amusement  of  a  raiding  party  was  to  make  their 
captives  run  the  gauntlet.  On  their  return  home 
two  long  lines  of  not  only  the  warriors,  but  even 
of  the  women  and  children  would  be  formed 
armed  with  clubs,  arrows,  tomahawks  and  whips. 
The  unfortunate  captive  was  stationed  at  one  end 
of  this  aisle  of  enemies  and  given  the  choice  of 
being  burned  at  the  stake  or  of  running  for  his 
life  between  the  lines  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
Sometimes  a  swift  runner  and  dodger  escaped 
enough  of  the  blows  to  stagger  blinded  with 
blood  from  a  score  of  wounds,  but  still  alive, 
across  the  line  which  marked  the  end  of  this  grim 
race  against  death.  It  was  always  a  desperate 
chance.  Only  the  certainty  of  death  if  it  were  not 
taken  ever  caused  any  man  to  enter  such  a  terrible 
competition.  There  is  no  record  of  even  the  most 
hardened  Indian  fighter  ever  running  the  gauntlet 
for  any  life  save  his  own. 


216    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

In  the  summer  of  1863,  three  men  ran  the 
gauntlet  of  shot  and  shell  and  rifle-fire  for  forty 
miles  to  save  an  army,  with  death  dogging 
them  all  the  way.  Brigadier-General  Thomas, 
who  afterward  earned  the  title  of  the  Rock  of 
Chickamauga  by  his  brave  stand  in  that  disastrous 
battle,  was  entrenched  on  one  of  the  spurs  of  the 
hills  around  Chattanooga.  General  Bragg  with  a 
much  superior  army  of  Confederates  had  hunted 
the  Union  soldiers  mile  after  mile.  At  times  they 
had  stopped  and  fought,  at  times  they  had  escaped 
by  desperate  marches.  Now  exhausted  and 
ringed  about  by  the  whole  Confederate  Army,  they 
must  soon  have  help  or  be  starved  into  surrender. 
Yet  only  forty  miles  to  the  eastward  was  a  body 
of  thirty  thousand  men  commanded  by  General 
Stockton.  This  general  was  one  of  those  valuable 
men  who  obey  orders  without  any  reasoning  about 
the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  the  same.  He  had 
been  commanded  to  hold  a  certain  pass  in  the 
mountains  until  further  orders  and  that  pass  he 
would  hold,  as  General  Thomas  well  knew,  until 
relieved  or  directed  to  do  otherwise.  If  only  the 
duty  had  been  assigned  to  some  other  officer,  it 
might    be    that    not  hearing  anything  from   the 


RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET  217 

main  body,  he  would  send  out  a  reconnoitering 
party.  Not  so  with  General  Stockton.  That 
general  would  stay  put  and  only  a  direct  order  or 
an  overpowering  force  of  the  enemy  would  move 
him. 

It  was  in  vain  that  General  Thomas  tried  to  get 
a  messenger  through  with  secret  despatches  in 
cipher.  General  Bragg  knew  that  he  had  the 
Union  Army  cornered  and  he  had  stationed  a  triple 
row  of  pickets  who  caught  or  shot  every  man  that 
General  Thomas  sent. 

Supplies  and  ammunition  were  both  running 
low  and  General  Thomas  was  considering  massing 
a  force  of  men  on  some  point  in  the  line  in  an  at- 
tempt to  break  through  far  enough  for  a  mes- 
senger to  escape.  This  meant  a  great  loss  of  life 
and  probably  would  not  be  successful  as  the  mes- 
senger would  almost  certainly  be  captured  by  an 
outer  ring  of  scouts  which  Bragg  would  throw  out 
as  soon  as  he  realized  what  was  going  on.  There 
was  only  one  other  chance.  The  Confederates 
were  so  sure  of  their  own  strength,  and  that  they 
would  eventually  capture  the  whole  army,  that 
they  had  not  destroyed  the  railroad  line  which 
ran  between  the  two  Federal  camps,  hoping  to  use 


218    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

the  same  for  shipping  soldiers,  prisoners  and  cap- 
tured supplies  later  on.  Both  sides  of  the  track, 
however,  were  lined  with  guards  and  covered  by 
a  number  of  Confederate  batteries.  General 
Thomas  decided  to  make  the  attempt  and  called 
for  volunteers  who  were  willing  to  run  this  forty- 
mile  gauntlet  between  the  Confederate  lines  and 
batteries.  Two  old  railroad  men  offered  their 
services  as  engineer  and  fireman  and  they  were 
accompanied  by  an  adjutant  who  was  to  be  the 
bearer  of  the  despatches.  There  seemed  to  be 
only  one  chance  in  a  thousand  for  this  engine  to 
get  safely  through  and  the  men  themselves,  if  they 
were  not  shot  in  their  flight  or  wrecked  with  the 
engine,  stood  a  good  chance  of  being  captured 
and  hung  as  spies.  In  fact  it  seemed  such  a  hope- 
less chance  that  at  the  last  moment  General 
Thomas  was  on  the  point  of  countermanding  the 
order  when  one  of  the  men  themselves  gave  the 
best  argument  in  favor  of  the  plan. 

"  It's  worth  trying,  General,"  said  he,  "  for  even 
if  we  fail,  you  only  lose  three  men.  The  other 
way  you  would  have  to  throw  away  at  least  a 
thousand  before  you  could  find  out  whether  it  was 
possible  to  cut  through  the  lines  or  not." 


RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET  219 

It  was  decided  to  make  the  trial  and  a  dark, 
moonless  night  when  the  sky  was  covered  with 
heavy  clouds  was  selected  as  the  best  time  for 
starting.  The  men  shook  hands  with  their  com- 
rades and  each  left  with  his  best  friend  a  letter  to 
be  sent  to  his  family  if  he  were  not  heard  from 
within  a  given  time.  There  were  but  few  engines 
in  the  Union  ranks  and  none  of  them  were  very 
good  as  the  Confederates  had  captured  the  most 
powerful.  However,  the  ex-engineer  and  fireman 
picked  out  the  one  which  seemed  to  be  in  best  re- 
pair, put  in  an  extra  supply  of  oil  to  allow  for  the 
racking  strain  on  the  machinery  and  filled  up  the 
tender  with  all  the  fuel  that  it  could  carry.  At 
half-past  ten  they  started  after  firing  up  with  the 
utmost  care  and  in  half  a  mile  they  were  running 
at  full  speed  when  suddenly  there  was  the  sharp 
crack  of  a  rifle  and  a  minie  bullet  whined  past  the 
panting,  jumping,  rushing  engine.  Another  one 
crashed  through  the  window  of  the  caboose,  but 
fortunately  struck  no  one.  By  this  time  the  little 
engine  was  going  at  her  utmost  speed.  At  times 
all  four  of  the  wheels  seemed  to  leave  the  track  at 
once,  she  jumped  so  under  the  tremendous  head 
of  steam  which  the  fireman,  working  as  he   had 


220    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

never  done  before,  had  raised.  The  engine 
swayed  so  from  side  to  side  as  it  ran  that  it  was 
all  that  the  adjutant  could  do  to  keep  his  feet. 
Finally  they  reached  the  first  battery.  Fortunately 
it  had  miscalculated  the  tremendous  speed  of  the 
engine.  A  series  of  guns  stationed  close  to  the 
track  hurled  a  shower  of  grape  and  solid  shot  at 
the  escaping  engine.  It  cut  the  framework  of  the 
caboose  almost  to  pieces,  but  fortunately  not  a 
shot  struck  any  vital  part  of  the  machinery  or  in- 
jured any  of  the  three  men.  As  they  whirled  on, 
the  last  gun  of  all  sent  a  solid  shot  after  them 
which  struck  the  bell  full  and  fair  and  with  a  last 
tremendous  clang  it  was  dashed  into  the  bushes  by 
the  side  of  the  road.  All  along  the  track  there 
was  a  fusillade  of  musket-fire  and  bullets  whizzed 
around  them  constantly,  but  none  struck  any  of 
the  crew.  The  next  danger-point  was  at  a  junc- 
tion with  this  road  and  another  which  ran  off  at 
right  angles.  This  junction  was  protected  by  no 
less  than  two  batteries  and  furthermore  on  the 
junction-track  was  an  engine  standing  with  smoke 
coming  out  of  her  smoke-stack  showing  that  she 
was  fired  up  ready  for  pursuit.  It  seemed  abso- 
lutely impossible  to  escape  these  two  batteries. 


RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET  221 

Already  they  could  see  lanterns  hurrying  to  and 
fro  on  both  sides  of  the  track  where  the  guns  were 
trained  so  close  that  they  simply  could  not  fail  to 
dash  the  engine  into  a  hissing,  bloody,  glowing 
scrap-heap  of  crumpled  steel  and  iron.  The  men 
set  their  teeth  and  prepared  for  the  crash  which 
every  one  of  them  felt  meant  death.  It  never 
came.  By  some  oversight,  no  alarm  had  been 
given  and  before  the  guns  could  be  manned  and 
sighted,  the  engine  was  whirling  along  right  be- 
tween both  batteries,  a  cloud  of  sparks  and  a  col- 
umn of  fire  rushing  two  feet  above  her  smoke- 
stack. The  Confederates  succeeded  in  only  turn- 
ing one  gun  and  training  it  on  the  little  engine 
fast  disappearing  in  the  darkness.  The  gunner, 
however,  who  fired  that  gun  came  nearer  putting 
an  end  to  the  expedition  than  all  the  others.  He 
dropped  a  shell  in  the  air  directly  over  them.  It 
shattered  the  roof  of  the  caboose,  wounded  the 
fireman  and  blew  out  both  windows,  but  almost  by 
a  miracle  left  the  machinery  still  uninjured.  The 
adjutant  laid  the  fireman  on  the  jumping,  bound- 
ing floor  of  the  cab  and  under  his  faint  instructions 
fired  the  engine  in  his  place.  As  he  was  heap- 
ing coal  into  the  open  fire-box  with  all  his  might, 


222    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

there  came  a  deep  groan  from  the  wounded  fire- 
man. 

"  Try  and  bear  the  pain,  old  man,"  shouted  the 
engineer  over  the  roar  of  the  engine.  "  We'll  be 
safe  in  a  few  minutes  if  nothing  happens." 

"  Something's  goin'  to  happen,"  gasped  the 
fireman.     "  Listen  !  " 

Far  back  over  the  track  came  a  pounding  and 
a  pushing.     The  engineer  shook  his  head. 

"  They're  after  us,"  he  said  to  the  adjutant, 
"  and  what's  more  they're  bound  to  get  us  unless 
we  can  throw  them  off  the  track." 

"  Can't  we  win  through  with  this  start  ?  "  said 
the  captain. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  engineer,  "  they've  got  an 
engine  that  can  do  ten  miles  an  hour  better  than 
this  one  and  beside  that,  they've  got  a  car  to 
steady  her.  I  don't  dare  give  this  old  girl  one 
ounce  more  of  steam  or  she'd  jump  the  tracks." 

Before  long  far  back  around  the  curve  came  the 
head-light  of  the  pursuing  engine  like  the  fierce 
eye  of  some  insatiable  monster  on  the  track  of  its 
prey.  Steadily  she  gained.  Once  when  they  ap- 
proached the  long  trestlework  which  ran  for 
nearly  a  mile,  the  sound  of  the  pursuit  slackened 


RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET  223 

off  as  the  lighter  engine  took  the  trestle  at  a  speed 
which  the  heavier  one  did  not  dare  to  use.  Bul- 
let after  bullet  whizzed  past  the  escaping  engine 
as  the  soldiers  in  the  cab  of  her  pursuer  fired  again 
and  again.  Both  engines,  however,  were  sway- 
ing too  much  to  allow  for  any  certain  aim. 
Finally  one  lucky  shot  smashed  the  clock  in  the 
front  engine  close  by  the  engineer's  head,  spray- 
ing glass  and  splinters  all  over  him.  Now  the 
front  engine  had  only  ten  miles  to  go  before  she 
would  be  near  enough  to  General  Stockton's  lines 
to  be  in  safety.  The  rear  engine,  however,  was 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  and  gaining  at 
every  yard. 

"  How  about  dropping  some  of  the  fire-bars  on 
the  tracks  ?"  suggested  the  captain.  "  We've  got 
enough  coal  on  to  carry  her  the  next  ten  miles. 
We  shan't  need  the  fire-bars  after  we  get  through 
and  we  certainly  won't  need  them  if  they  capture 
us." 

It  seemed  a  good  idea  and  the  wounded  fire- 
man dragged  himself  to  the  throttle  and  took  the 
engineer's  place  for  a  moment  while  he  and  the 
captain  climbed  out  upon  the  truck  and  carefully 
dropped  one  after  the  other  of  the  long,  heavy 


224    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

steel  rods  across  the  track.  Then  they  listened, 
hoping  to  hear  the  crash  of  a  derailed  engine.  It 
never  came.  Instead  there  was  a  loud  clanging 
noise  followed  by  a  crackling  of  the  underbrush 
and  repeated  again  as  the  pursuing  engine  struck 
each  bar  with  its  cow-catcher  and  dashed  it  off 
the  rails.  The  captain  suddenly  commenced  to 
unbutton  and  tear  off  his  long,  heavy  army  over- 
coat. 

"  How  about  putting  this  in  the  middle  of  the 
track  on  the  chance  that  it  may  entangle  the 
wheels  ?  "  he  suggested. 

In  a  minute  the  engineer  clambered  out  on  the 
truck. 

"  If  only  it  gets  wedged  in  the  piston-bar,  it  may 
take  half  an  hour  to  get  it  out,"  he  panted  as  he 
climbed  back  into  the  cab. 

Suddenly  from  behind  they  heard  a  heavy 
jolting  noise  and  then  the  sound  of  escaping 
steam. 

"  We  got  her,"  shouted  the  engineer  and  the 
captain  to  the  wounded  fireman  whose  face  looked 
ghastly  white  against  the  red  light  of  the  open 
fire-box.  The  engineer  and  the  captain  shook 
hands  and  decided  to  do  a  little  war-dance  without 


RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET  225 

much  success  on  the  swaying  floor  of  the  cab,  but 
they  were  suddenly  stopped  by  a  whisper  from  the 
fireman. 

"  They've  got  it  out,"  he  said.  Sure  enough 
once  more  there  came  the  thunder  of  approaching 
wheels  and  the  start  which  they  had  gained  was 
soon  cut  down  again.  The  heavy  engine  came 
more  and  more  rapidly  on  them  as  the  fire  died 
down,  although  the  captain  tried  to  stir  up  the 
flagging  flames  with  his  sword  in  place  of  the  lost 
fire-iron.  Only  a  mile  ahead  they  could  see  the 
lights  which  showed  where  the  Union  lines  lay. 
Before  them  was  a  heavy  up-grade  and  it  was 
certain  that  the  Confederate  engine  would  catch 
them  there  just  on  the  edge  of  safety.  In  a  min- 
ute or  so  the  men  crowded  into  the  cab  of  the 
engine  behind  to  be  close  enough  to  pick  off  the 
fugitives  at  their  leisure.  The  three  men  stared 
blankly  ahead.  Suddenly  the  dull,  despairing 
look  on  the  engineer's  face  was  replaced  by  a 
broad  grin.  Entirely  forgetting  military  etiquette, 
he  slapped  his  superior  officer  on  the  back  and  said : 

"  Captain,  come  out  to  the  tender  with  me  and 
I'll  show  you  a  stunt  that  will  save  our  lives  if  you 
will  do  just  what  I  tell  you." 


226    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

The  captain  obeyed  meekly  while  the  wounded 
fireman  stared  at  his  friend  under  the  impression 
that  he  was  losing  his  mind  under  the  strain. 
The  engineer  took  one  of  the  large  oil-cans  with  a 
long  nozzle  and  then  wrapping  his  two  brawny 
arms  tightly  around  the  captain's  waist,  lowered 
him  as  far  as  he  could  from  the  tender  and 
directed  him  to  pour  the  oil  directly  on  each  rail 
without  wasting  a  drop  or  allowing  a  foot  to  go 
unoiled.  It  was  hard  in  the  dark  to  see  the  rail 
or  to  keep  one's  balance  on  the  bounding  engine, 
but  the  captain  was  a  light  weight  and  the  engineer 
let  him  down  as  far  back  from  the  tender  as  he 
dared  and  held  him  there  until  one  rail  was 
thoroughly  oiled.  He  repeated  the  operation  on 
the  other  side  and  the  two  once  more  came  back 
to  the  fireman  who  was  clinging  limply  to  the 
throttle. 

"  Now,"  said  the  engineer,  "  keep  your  eye 
open  and  you'll  see  some  fun." 

The  front  engine  puffed  more  and  more  slowly 
up  the  grade  and  the  pursuing  engine  seemed  to 
gain  on  them  at  every  yard.  Already  the  men  in 
the  cab  were  commencing  to  aim  their  rifles  for  the 
last  fatal  volley.     At  this  moment  the  front  wheels 


RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET  227 

of  the  pursuing  engine  reached  the  oiled  track  and 
in  a  minute  her  speed  slackened,  the  wheels  whirled 
round  and  round  at  a  tremendous  speed  and 
there  was  a  sudden  rush  and  hiss  of  escaping 
steam.  The  engine  in  front  suddenly  drew  away 
from  her  anchored  pursuer.  The  engineer  took  a 
last  long  look  at  them  through  his  field-glasses. 

"  It  seems  to  me,  captain,"  said  he,  "  as  if  they 
are  cussin'  considerable.  Her  old  wheels  are 
spinnin'  like  a  squirrel-cage." 

The  engine  dashed  on  more  and  more  slowly, 
but  there  was  no  need  for  haste.  In  a  few  min- 
utes a  shot  was  fired  in  front  of  them  and  a  sentry 
shouted  for  them  to  halt.  They  were  within  the 
picket  lines  of  the  Union  Army.  The  engine  was 
stopped  and  the  three  men  staggered  out  holding 
tightly  the  precious  dispatches  which  they  carried 
in  triplicate  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  they  were 
in  the  presence  of  General  Stockton.  A  force  was 
at  once  sent  out  and  the  Confederates  and  their 
locomotive  were  captured  and  within  an  hour 
thirty  thousand  men  were  on  their  way  to  relieve 
the  beset  Union  forces. 

The  gauntlet  had  been  run  and  General  Thomas' 
army  was  saved. 


CHAPTER  XII 
Forgotten  Heroes 


CHAPTER  XII 

FORGOTTEN  HEROES 

"  There  was  a  little  city  and  few  men  within  it 
and  there  came  a  great  king  against  it  and  be- 
sieged it  and  built  great  bulwarks  against  it.  Now 
there  was  found  in  it  a  poor  wise  man  and  he  by 
his  wisdom  delivered  the  city,  yet  no  man  remem- 
bered that  same  poor  man."  Thus  wrote  the 
great  Solomon,  hearing  of  a  deed,  the  tale  of 
which  had  come  down  through  the  centuries. 
The  doer  of  the  deed  had  been  long  forgotten. 

History  is  full  of  memories  of  brave  deeds.  The 
names  of  the  men  who  did  them  have  passed 
away.  The  deeds  live  on  forever.  Like  a  fleck 
of  radium  each  deed  is  indestructible.  It  may  be 
covered  with  the  dust  and  debris  of  uncounted 
years,  but  from  it  pulsates  and  streams  forever  a 
current  of  example  and  impulse  which  never  can 
be  hidden,  never  be  forgotten,  but  which  may 
flash  out  ages  later,  fighting  with  a  mysterious, 
hidden  inner  strength  against  the  powers  of  fear 
and  of  wrong. 


232    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

The  annals  of  the  Civil  War  are  full  of  records 
of  forgotten  doers  of  great  deeds,  humble,  com- 
monplace men  and  women  who  suddenly  flashed 
out  in  some  great  effort  of  duty  and  perhaps  were 
never  heard  of  again.  Pray  God  that  all  of  us  when 
the  time  comes  may  burst  if  only  for  a  moment  into 
the  fruition  of  accomplishment  for  which  we  were 
born  and  not  wither  away  like  the  unprofitable  fig- 
tree  which  only  grew,  but  never  bore  fruit. 

In  1862,  the  battle-hospitals  were  crowded  with 
wounded  and  dying  men.  The  best  surgeons  of 
that  day  had  not  learned  what  every  doctor  knows 
now  about  the  aseptic  treatment  of  wounds  and 
conducting  of  operations.  Accordingly  too  often 
even  slight  wounds  gangrened  and  a  terrible  per- 
centage of  injured  men  died  helplessly  and  hope- 
lessly. In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  hospitals  at 
Jefferson  were  in  a  fearful  condition.  Thousands 
and  thousands  of  wounded  and  dying  men  were 
brought  there  for  whom  there  were  no  beds.  One 
poor  fellow  lay  on  the  bare,  wet  boards,  sick  of  a 
wasting  fever.  He  was  worn  almost  to  a  skeleton 
and  on  his  poor,  thin  body  were  festering  bed-sores 
which  had  come  because  there  was  no  one  who 
could  give  him  proper  attention.     From  his  side 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  233 

he  had  seen  five  men  one  after  the  other  brought 
in  sick  or  wounded  and  carried  away  dead.  One 
day  an  old  black  washerwoman  named  Hannah 
stopped  in  the  ward  to  hunt  up  a  doctor  for  whom 
she  was  to  do  some  work.  She  saw  this  patient 
lying  on  his  side  on  a  dirty  blanket  spread  out  on 
the  boards  unwashed  and  filthy  beyond  all  de- 
scription with  gaping  sores  showing  on  his  wasted 
back.  There  he  lay  staring  hopelessly  at  the  body 
of  a  man  who  had  recently  died  next  to  him  and 
which  the  few  overworked  attendants  had  not  had 
time  to  carry  out  to  the  dead-house.  Old  Hannah 
could  not  stand  the  sight.  When  she  finally  found 
the  doctor  she  begged  him  to  give  her  leave  to 
take  the  man  up  and  put  him  in  her  own  bed. 

"  It's  no  use,  Hannah,"  said  the  doctor  kindly, 
"  the  poor  chap  is  dying.  He  will  be  gone  to- 
morrow. I  wish  we  could  do  something  for  him, 
but  we  can't  and  you  can't." 

Hannah  could  not  sleep  that  night  thinking  of 
the  sick  man.  Bright  and  early  the  next  morning 
she  came  down  and  found  him  still  alive.  That 
settled  it  in  her  mind.  Without  asking  any  one's 
permission,  she  went  out,  looked  up  her  two  strap- 
ping sons  and   made  them  leave  their  work  and 


234    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

bring  her  bed  down  to  the  hospital.  It  was 
covered  with  coarse  but  clean  linen  sheets  and  she 
directed  them  while  they  lifted  the  sufferer  on  to 
the  bed  and  carried  him  down  to  her  shanty. 
There  she  cut  away  the  filthy  shirt  which  he  wore 
and  washed  him  like  a  baby  with  hot  water. 
Then  she  settled  down  to  nurse  him  back  to  life. 
Every  half  hour,  night  and  day,  she  fed  him 
spoonfuls  of  hot,  nourishing  soup.  That  and 
warm  water  and  clean  linen  were  the  only  medi- 
cines she  used.  For  a  week  she  did  nothing  else 
but  nurse  her  soldier.  Several  times  he  sank  and 
once  she  thought  him  dead,  but  he  always  rallied 
and  single-handed  old  Hannah  fought  back  death 
and  slowly  nursed  him  back  to  health.  Finally 
when  he  was  well,  he  was  given  a  furlough  to  go 
back  to  his  home  in  Indiana.  He  tried  to  persuade 
Hannah  to  go  back  with  him. 

"  No,  honey,"  she  said,  "  I'se  got  my  washing 
to  do  and  besides  I'm  goin'  to  try  to  adopt  some 
more  soldiers." 

She  went  with  him  to  the  steamboat,  fixed  him 
in  a  deck  chair,  as  he  was  still  too  feeble  to  walk, 
and  kissed  him  good-bye  and  when  she  left  the 
man  broke  down  and  cried.     Old  Hannah  went 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  235 

back  to  her  shanty  and  did  the  same  thing  again 
and  again  until  she  had  nursed  back  to  life  no  less 
than  six  Union  soldiers.  As  she  was  not  in  active 
service,  the  government  never  recognized  her 
work  and  even  her  last  name  was  never  known, 
but  six  men  and  their  families  and  their  friends 
have  handed  down  the  story  of  what  a  poor,  old, 
black  washerwoman  could  and  did  do  for  her 
country  and  for  the  sick  and  helpless. 

The  exploit  of  Lieutenant  Blodgett  and  his 
orderly,  Peter  Basnett,  was  a  brave  deed  of  an- 
other kind.  He  had  been  sent  by  General 
Schofield  during  the  engagement  at  Newtonia 
with  orders  to  the  colonel  of  the  Fourth  Missouri 
Cavalry.  As  the  two  rode  around  a  point  of 
woods,  they  suddenly  found  themselves  facing 
forty  Confederate  soldiers  drawn  up  in  an  irregular 
line  not  fifty  yards  away.  There  was  no  chance  of 
escape,  as  they  would  be  riddled  with  bullets  at 
such  a  short  range.  Moreover  neither  the  lieuten- 
ant nor  his  orderly  thought  well  of  surrendering. 
Without  an  instant's  hesitation  they  at  once  drew 
their  revolvers  and  charging  down  upon  the  Con- 
federates, shouted  in  loud,  though  rather  shaky 
voices,    "  Surrender  !      Drop   your   arms  !      Sur- 


236    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

render  at  once ! "  The  line  wavered,  feeling 
that  two  men  would  not  have  the  audacity  to 
charge  them  unless  they  were  followed  by  an  over- 
whelming force.  As  they  came  right  up  to  the 
lines,  eight  of  the  men  in  front  threw  down  their 
muskets.  The  rest  hesitated  a  minute  and  then 
turned  and  broke  for  the  woods  and  the  lieutenant 
and  his  orderly  rode  on  and  delivered  eight 
prisoners  along  with  their  orders. 

In  the  battle  of  Rappahannock  Station,  Colonel 
Edwards  of  the  Fifth  Maine  showed  the  same 
nerve  under  similar  circumstances.  While  his 
regiment  were  busy  taking  a  whole  brigade  of 
captured  Confederates  to  the  rear,  the  colonel  with 
a  dozen  of  his  men  rode  out  into  the  darkness 
after  more  prisoners.  Following  the  line  of  forti- 
fications down  toward  the  river,  he  suddenly  came 
out  in  front  of  a  long  line  of  Confederate  troops 
lying  entrenched  in  rifle-pits.  Like  Lieutenant 
Blodgett,  he  decided  to  make  a  brave  bluff  rather 
than  be  shot  down  or  spend  weary  years  in  a  Con- 
federate prison.  Riding  directly  up  to  the  nearest 
rifle-pit  where  a  score  of  guns  were  leveled  at  him, 
he  inquired  for  the  officer  who  was  in  command 
of  the  Confederate  forces. 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  237 

"  I  command  here,"  said  the  Confederate  colonel, 
rising  from  the  middle  pit,  "  and  who  are  you, 
sir  ?  " 

"  My  name  is  Colonel  Edwards  of  the  Fifth 
Maine,  U.  S.  A.,"  replied  the  other,  "  and  I  call 
upon  you  to  surrender  your  command  at  once." 

The  Confederate  colonel  hesitated. 

"  Let  me  confer  with  my  officers  first,"  he  said. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Colonel  Edwards,  "  I  can't  give 
you  a  minute.  Your  forces  on  the  right  have  been 
captured,  your  retreat  is  cut  off  and  unless  you 
surrender  at  once,  I  shall  be  compelled  to  order 
my  regiment,"  pointing  impressively  to  the  whole 
horizon,  "  to  attack  you  without  further  delay.  I 
don't  wish  to  cause  any  more  loss  of  life  than 
possible." 

The  Confederate  colonel  was  convinced  by  his 
impressive  actions  and  that  there  would  be  no  use 
to  resist. 

"  I  hope  you  will  let  me  keep  my  sword,  how- 
ever," he  said. 

"Certainly,"  said  Colonel  Edwards,  generously, 
"  you  can  keep  your  sword,  but  your  men  must 
lay  down  their  arms  and  pass  to  the  rear  imme- 
diately." 


238    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

The  whole  brigade  including  a  squad  of  the  fa- 
mous Louisiana  Tigers  were  disarmed  and  marched 
to  the  rear  as  prisoners  of  war  by  Colonel  Ed- 
wards and  his  twelve  men.  One  of  these  men  said 
afterward,  "  Colonel,  I  nearly  lost  that  battle  for 
you  by  laughing  when  you  spoke  about  their  '  sur- 
rendering to  avoid  loss  of  life.'  " 

The  most  terrible  missile  in  modern  warfare  is 
the  explosive  shell.  Records  show  that  the  great- 
est loss  of  life  occurs  from  artillery  fire  and  not 
from  rifle  bullets.  In  the  Civil  War  these  shells 
were  especially  feared.  The  solid  shot  and  the 
grape  and  the  canister  were  bad  enough,  but 
when  a  great,  smoking  shell  dropped  into  the 
midst  of  a  regiment,  the  bravest  men  fled  for 
shelter.  The  fuses  were  cut  so  that  the  shell 
would  explode  immediately  on  striking  or  a  very 
few  seconds  afterward.  The  explosion  would 
drive  jagged  fragments  of  iron  and  sometimes 
heated  bullets  through  scores  of  men  within  a  ra- 
dius of  fully  one  hundred  yards.  No  wounds  were 
more  feared  or  more  fatal  than  the  ghastly  rips 
and  tears  made  by  the  jagged,  red-hot  fragments 
of  shells.  The  men  became  used  to  the  hiss  and 
the  whistle  of  the  solid  shot  and  the  whirling  bul- 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  239 

lets,  but  when  the  scream  of  the  hollow  shell  was 
heard  through  the  air  overhead,  like  the  yell  of 
some  great,  fatal,  flying  monster,  every  man 
within  hearing  tried  to  get  under  shelter. 

In  1864,  the  101st  Ohio  Infantry  were  fighting 
at  Buzzards  Roost,  Georgia.  Company  H  was 
drawn  up  along  the  banks  of  the  stream  there  and 
one  of  the  Confederate  batteries  had  just  got  its 
range.  Suddenly  there  came  across  the  woods 
the  long,  fierce,  wailing  scream  of  one  of  the  great 
shells  and  before  the  echo  had  died  out  it  appeared 
over  the  tree  tops  and  fell  right  in  the  midst  of  a 
hundred  men,  hissing  and  spitting  fire.  All  the 
men  but  one  scattered  in  every  direction.  Private 
Jacob  F.  Yaeger  was  on  the  edge  of  the  group 
and  could  have  secured  his  own  safety  by  dodging 
behind  a  large  tree  which  stood  conveniently  near. 
Just  as  he  was  about  to  do  this  he  saw  that  some 
of  the  men  had  not  had  time  enough  to  get  away 
and  were  just  scrambling  up  only  a  few  feet  from 
the  spluttering  shell.  He  acted  on  one  of  those 
quick,  brave  impulses  which  make  heroes  of  men. 
Like  a  flash,  he  sprinted  across  the  field,  tearing 
off  his  coat  as  he  ran,  wrapped  it  round  the  hiss- 
ing, hot  shell  and  started  for  the  creek,  clasping  it 


240    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

tight  against  his  breast.  By  this  time  the  fuse  had 
burned  so  far  in  that  there  was  no  opportunity  to 
cut  it  below  the  spark.  His  only  chance  was  to 
get  it  into  the  water  before  the  spark  reached  the 
powder  below.  He  reached  the  bank  of  the  creek 
in  about  two  jumps,  but,  as  he  said  afterward,  he 
seemed  to  hang  in  the  air  a  half  hour  between 
each  jump.  Even  as  he  reached  the  bank,  he 
hurled  the  shell,  coat  and  all,  into  the  deep,  slug- 
gish water  and  involuntarily  ducked  for  the  explo- 
sion which  he  was  sure  was  going  to  come.  It 
didn't.  The  water  stopped  the  spark  just  in  time 
and  Private  Yaeger  had  saved  the  lives  of  many 
of  his  comrades. 

Of  all  the  prizes  which  are  most  valued  in  war 
the  captured  battle-flags  of  an  enemy  rank  first. 
The  flag  is  the  symbol  of  an  army's  life.  While 
it  waves  the  army  is  living  and  undefeated. 
When  the  flag  falls,  or  when  it  is  captured,  all  is 
over.  In  battle  the  men  rally  around  their  colors 
and  the  flag  stands  for  life  or  death.  It  must 
never  be  given  up  and  the  one  who  carries  the  flag 
has  not  only  the  most  honorable  but  the  most 
dangerous  post  in  his  company.  Against  the  flag 
every  charge  is  directed.     The  man  who  carries 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  241 

the  flag  knows  that  he  is  marked  above  all  others 
for  attack.  The  man  who  saves  a  flag  from  cap- 
ture saves  his  company  or  his  regiment  not  only 
from  defeat,  but  from  disgrace. 

In  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Corporal  Nathaniel 
M.  Allen  of  the  First  Massachusetts  Infantry  was 
the  color-bearer  of  his  company.  On  the  2d  of 
July  his  regiment  had  been  beaten  back  under  the 
tremendous  attacks  of  the  Confederate  forces. 
Their  retreat  became  almost  a  rout  as  the  men  ran 
to  escape  the  murderous  fire  which  was  being 
poured  in  upon  them  by  concealed  batteries  of  the 
enemy  as  well  as  from  the  muskets  of  the  advanc- 
ing infantry.  Corporal  Allen  stayed  back  in  the 
rear  and  retreated  slowly  and  reluctantly  so  as  to 
give  his  company  a  chance  to  return  and  rally. 
Beyond  and  still  farther  back  than  he,  marching 
grimly  and  doggedly  from  the  enemy,  was  the 
color-bearer  of  his  regiment  carrying  the  regi- 
mental flag.  Suddenly  Allen  saw  him  falter,  stop, 
fling  up  his  arms  and  fall  headlong  on  the  field 
tangled  up  in  the  flag  which  he  was  carrying. 
There  came  a  tremendous  yell  from  the  advancing 
Confederate  forces  as  they  saw  the  flag  go  down. 
Allen  stopped  and  for  a  moment  hesitated.     It  was 


242    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

only  his  duty  to  carry  and  wave  his  own  colors, 
but  at  that  moment  he  saw  a  squad  of  gray-backs 
start  out  from  the  advancing  Confederate  forces 
and  make  a  rush  to  capture  the  flag  which  lay  flat 
and  motionless  in  a  widening  pool  of  the  color- 
bearer's  blood.  This  was  too  much  for  Allen. 
With  a  yell  of  defiance  he  rushed  back,  heed- 
less of  the  bullets  which  hissed  all  around  him, 
and  rolling  over  the  dead  body  of  the  man  who 
had  given  his  life  for  his  colors  he  pulled  the 
regimental  flag  from  under  his  body,  and  started 
back  for  the  distant  Union  forces.  By  this  time 
the  Confederates  were  close  upon  him,  but  his 
brave  deed  had  not  gone  unnoticed.  Seeing  him 
coming  across  the  stricken  field  with  a  flag  in 
either  hand,  the  rear-guard  of  his  regiment  turned 
back  with  a  cheer  and  poured  in  a  volley  into  the 
approaching  Confederates  which  stopped  them  just 
long  enough  to  let  Allen  escape  and  to  carry  back 
both  the  colors. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  you  fellows  anyway," 
said  Allen,  as  he  reached  the  safety  of  the  rear 
rank  ;  "  do  you  think  I'm  going  to  do  all  the  fight- 
ing?" 

A  storm  of  cheers  and  laughter  greeted  this  re- 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  243 

mark  and  the  rear-guard  stopped.  Slowly  the 
others,  hearing  the  cheers,  and  stranger  still,  the 
laughing,  came  back  to  the  colors  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  line  was  again  formed  and  this  time 
the  regiment  held  and  drove  back  the  attack  of 
the  Confederates.  One  man  by  doing  more  than 
his  duty  had  changed  a  defeat  into  a  victory. 

Sometimes  in  a  battle  a  man  becomes  an  in- 
voluntary hero.  In  some  of  Sienkiwictz's  war- 
novels,  he  has  a  character  named  Zagloba  who 
was  constantly  doing  brave  deeds  in  spite  of  him- 
self. In  one  battle  he  became  caught  in  a  charge 
and  while  struggling  desperarely  to  get  out,  he 
tripped  and  fell  on  top  of  the  standard-bearer  of 
the  other  army  who  had  just  been  killed.  Zagloba 
found  himself  caught  and  entangled  in  the  banner 
and  finally,  as  the  battle  swept  on,  he  emerged 
from  the  place  in  safety  carrying  the  standard  of 
the  enemy  and  from  that  day  forward  was  held  as 
one  of  the  heroes  of  the  army. 

At  the  battle  of  Chancellors ville  Major  Clifford 
Thompson  at  Hazel  Grove  became  an  involuntary 
hero  and  did  a  much  braver  deed  than  he  had 
intended,  although,  unlike  Zagloba,  he  had  shown 
no  lack  of  courage  throughout  the  battle.     Gen- 


244    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

eral  Pleasonton  was  forming  a  line  of  battle  along 
the  edge  of  the  woods  and  was  riding  from  gun  to 
gun  inspecting  the  line  when  suddenly  not  two 
hundred  yards  distant  a  body  of  men  appeared 
marching  toward  them.  He  was  about  to  give 
the  order  to  fire  when  a  sergeant  called  out  to 
him : 

"  Wait,  General,  I  can  see  our  colors  in  the  line." 

The    General    hesitated   a   moment   and   then 

turning   said,    "  Major  Thompson,   ride  out  and 

see  who  those  people  are  and  come  back  and  tell 

me." 

As  the  major  said  afterward,  he  had  absolutely 
no  curiosity  personally  to  find  out  anything  about 
them  and  was  perfectly  willing  to  let  them  intro- 
duce themselves,  but  an  order  is  an  order,  and  he 
accordingly  rode  directly  toward  the  approaching 
men.  He  could  plainly  see  that  they  had  Union 
colors,  but  could  see  no  trace  of  any  Union  uni- 
forms. When  he  was  only  about  forty  yards 
distant,  the  whole  line  called  out  to  him  : 

"  Come  on  in,  we're  friends  ;  don't  be  afraid." 
The  major,   however,   had  heard   of  too  many 
men  being  made  prisoners  by  pretended  friends 
and  accordingly  rode  along  the  front  of  the  whole 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  245 

line  in  order  to  determine  definitely  the  character 
of  the  approaching  forces,  fearing  that  the  colors 
which  he  saw  and  which  they  kept  waving 
toward  him  might  have  been  Union  colors 
captured  from  the  Union  forces  the  day  before. 
Seeing  that  he  did  not  come  closer,  one  of  the 
front  rank  suddenly  fired  directly  at  him  and 
then  with  a  tremendous  Rebel  yell  the  whole 
body  charged  down  upon  the  Union  forces. 
Thompson  turned  his  horse  to  dash  back  to  his 
own  lines,  but  realized  that,  caught  between  two 
fires,  he  would  evidently  be  shot  either  by  his 
own  troops  or  by  the  Rebels  behind  him.  Dash- 
ing his  spurs  into  his  horse,  he  rode  like  the  wind 
beween  the  two  lines,  hoping  to  get  past  them 
both  before  the  final  volley  came.  Fortunately 
for  him  both  sides  reserved  their  fire  until  they 
came  to  close  quarters  although  he  received  a 
fusillade  of  scattered  shots  all  along  the  line.  Just 
as  he  rounded  the  ends,  the  lines  came  together 
with  a  crash  and  simultaneous  volleys  of  mus- 
ketry. There  were  a  few  moments  of  hand-to- 
hand  fighting,  but  the  Union  forces  were  too 
strong  and  the  Confederate  ranks  broke  and  re- 
treated in  scattering  groups  to  the  shelter  of  the 


246    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

woods  beyond.  The  major  reached  the  rear  of 
his  own  lines  just  in  time  to  help  drive  back  the 
last  rush  of  the  Confederates.  A  few  moments 
later  he  saw  General  Pleasonton  sitting  on  his 
horse  nearly  in  the  same  place  where  he  had 
been  when  he  had  first  sent  him  on  his  errand. 
Riding  up  to  him,  Major  Thompson  saluted. 

"  General,"  he  said,  "  those  men  were  Confed- 
erates." 

"  I  strongly  suspected  it,"  said  the  General, 
"  but,  Major,  I  never  expected  to  see  you  again, 
for  when  that  charge  came  I  figured  out  that  if 
the  Rebs  didn't  shoot  you,  we  would.  You  did  a 
very  brave  thing  reconnoitering  the  enemies' 
front  like  that." 

"  Well,"  said  the  major,  "  I  am  glad,  General, 
that  it  impressed  you  that  way.  It  was  such  a 
rapid  reconnoiter  that  I  was  afraid  that  you  might 
think  it  was  a  retreat." 

When  Henry  C.  Foster,  who  afterward  be- 
came famous  as  one  of  the  heroes  of  Vicksburg, 
joined  the  Union  Army,  he  was  the  rawest  recruit 
in  his  regiment.  His  messmates  still  tell  the 
story  of   how,  before   the  regiment  marched,  he 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  247 

was  visited  by  his  mother  who  brought  him  an 
umbrella  and  a  bottle  of  pennyroyal  for  use  in 
wet  weather  and  was  horrified  to  find  that 
soldiers  are  not  allowed  to  carry  umbrellas. 
Henry  was  impatient  of  the  constant  and  never- 
ending  drilling  to  which  he  was  subjected.  One 
day  after  a  trying  hour  of  setting-up  exercises,  he 
suddenly  grounded  his  gun  and  said  engagingly 
to  the  captain : 

"  Say,  Captain,  let's  stop  this  foolishness  and  go 
over  to  the  grocery  store  and  have  a  little  game 
of  cards." 

The  captain  stared  at  Foster  for  nearly  a  min- 
ute before  he  could  get  his  breath,  then  he  turned 
to  a  grinning  sergeant  and  said  : 

"  Sergeant,  you  take  charge  of  this  young  cab- 
bage-head after  the  regular  drilling  is  over  and 
drill  him  like  blazes  for  about  three  extra  hours," 
which  the  sergeant  accordingly  did. 

In  spite  of  his  greenness  and  his  peculiarities, 
however,  Henry  had  good  stuff  in  him  and  the 
making  of  a  brave  soldier.  He  was  known  as  a 
dead-shot  and  a  good  soldier,  although  still  re- 
taining some  of  his  peculiarities.  Among  others 
he   insisted   upon  wearing   a   coonskin   cap  and 


248    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

was  known  throughout  his  company  as  "  Old 
Coonskin."  He  soon  showed  such  qualities  of 
courage  and  self-reliance  that  in  spite  of  his 
early  record  he  was  gradually  promoted  until 
by  the  time  his  regiment  reached  Vicksburg, 
which  the  Union  Army  was  then  besieging,  he 
was  a  second  lieutenant.  The  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg was  a  long  and  tedious  affair.  The  in- 
vesting forces  did  not  have  sufficient  artillery  to 
make  such  a  breach  in  the  defenses  of  the  Con- 
federates that  a  successful  attack  could  be  made. 
The  besiegers  out  in  the  wet  and  mud  wearied  of 
the  slow  process  under  which  the  encircling  lines 
were  brought  closer  and  closer  and  longed  for 
more  active  operations.  Lieutenant  Foster  espe- 
cially, just  as  formerly  he  had  protested  against 
the  interminable  drilling,  now  chafed  against  the 
enforced  inaction  of  the  troops.  Finally  he  made 
up  his  mind  that  he  at  least  would  get  some  in- 
terest out  of  the  siege.  As  one  of  the  best  shots 
in  his  regiment,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  being  de- 
tailed for  sharp-shooting  duty.  One  dark  night, 
loaded  with  ammunition  and  with  a  haversack  of 
provisions  and  several  canteens  of  water,  he 
crawled  out  into  the  space  between  the   Union 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  249 

lines  and  the  defender's  ramparts.  The  next 
morning,  to  his  comrades'  intense  surprise,  they 
found  that  Old  Coonskin  had  dug  for  himself  a 
deep  burrow  like  a  woodchuck  close  to  the 
enemy's  defenses  and  had  thrown  up  a  little 
mound  with  a  peep-hole.  There  he  lay  for  three 
days  picking  off  the  Confederates  and  scoring 
each  successful  shot  with  a  notch  on  the  butt  of 
the  long  rifle  which  he  had  obtained  especial  per- 
mission to  use.  At  first  the  Confederates  could 
not  locate  the  direction  from  which  the  fatal  shots 
kept  coming.  When  they  did  discover  Foster  in 
his  burrow,  volley  after  volley  was  directed  at  his 
refuge,  but  he  kept  too  close  to  be  hit  and  at  regu- 
lar intervals  men  who  showed  themselves  on  the 
ramparts  were  kept  dropping  before  his  unerring 
fire.  At  the  end  of  the  third  day,  the  Confeder- 
ates had  learned  their  lesson  and  there  were  no 
more  shots  to  be  had  and  once  more  Old  Coon- 
skin began  to  be  bored.  It  finally  occurred  to 
him  that  if  he  could  in  any  way  gain  possession 
of  a  height  which  would  allow  him  to  shoot  over 
the  ramparts,  he  could  make  the  Confederate 
position  very  uncomfortable.  There  was  no  tree 
or  hill,  however,  near  by  which  would  lend  itself 


250    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

to  any  such  idea.  Accordingly  the  third  night 
Foster  crawled  back  again  to  his  regiment  and 
spent  a  day  in  resting  and  reconnoitering  and  re- 
ceiving the  congratulations  of  the  whole  regiment 
for  his  marksmanship  and  daring.  The  next 
night  was  dark  and  stormy.  At  daylight  the 
sentries  inside  the  city  were  amazed  to  see  a  rude 
structure  standing  close  beside  the  fatal  burrow. 
It  was  in  the  form  of  a  log-cabin  hastily  built  out 
of  railroad  ties  and  reinforced  with  heavy  rail- 
road iron  and  containing  peep-holes  so  that  its 
occupant  could  shoot  with  entire  safety.  At  first 
it  did  not  seem  to  be  any  more  dangerous  than 
the  burrow  had  been  so  long  as  the  besieged  kept 
off  the  breastwork.  By  the  second  day,  however, 
it  had  grown  visibly  higher  and  the  third  night 
found  it  built  up  by  slow  degrees  so  that  it  began 
to  look  really  like  a  low  tower.  Finally  it  reached 
such  a  height  that  from  an  upper  inside  shelf,  pro- 
tected by  heavy  logs  and  planks,  Old  Coonskin 
could  lie  at  his  ease  and  overlook  all  of  the  opera- 
tions inside  the  city.  Then  began  a  reign  of  ter- 
ror for  the  besieged.  They  had  no  artillery  and 
it  was  necessary  to  concentrate  an  incessant  fire 
on  the  tower,  otherwise  the  sharp-shooter  within 


FORGOTTEN  HEROES  251 

could  pick  off  his  men  without  difficulty.  It  was 
absolutely  impossible  for  the  besieged  to  keep  un- 
der cover  and  still  properly  man  the  defenses 
against  an  attack.  One  by  one  the  officers  went 
down  before  Old  Coonskin's  deadly  fire  and  it 
seemed  to  be  only  a  question  of  time  and  ammu- 
nition before  the  whole  garrison  succumbed  to  his 
marksmanship.  In  the  meantime,  the  besieging 
lines  drew  closer  and  closer  and  the  never-ceasing 
artillery  fire  and  incessant  attacks  gradually  wore 
down  the  courage  and  the  resources  of  the  be- 
sieged. One  day  within  an  hour  eleven  men 
went  down  before  the  deadly  aim  of  Old  Coon- 
skin,  most  of  them  officers.  Suddenly  the  firing 
ceased  from  the  ramparts  and  slowly  and  reluc- 
tantly a  white  flag  was  hoisted,  followed  shortly 
by  an  envoy  to  the  Union  lines  with  a  flag  of 
truce.  A  tremendous  cheer  went  up  through  the 
weary  Union  lines.  Vicksburg  had  fallen,  and  to 
this  day  you  never  will  be  able  to  convince  Old 
Coonskin's  company  that  he  was  not  the  man  who, 
along  with  Grant,  brought  about  its  surrender. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Three  Hundred  Who  Saved  an  Army 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   THREE  HUNDRED  WHO  SAVED  AN  ARMY 

Twenty-three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
three  hundred  men  beat  back  an  army  of  three 
millions  of  the  Great  King,  as  the  King  of  Persia 
was  rightly  called.  The  kingdom  of  Xerxes,  who 
then  ruled  over  Persia,  stretched  from  India  to  the 
^Egean  Sea  and  from  the  Caspian  to  the  Red  Sea. 
He  reigned  over  Chaldean,  Jew,  Phoenician, 
Egyptian,  Arab,  Ethiopian  and  half  a  hundred 
other  nations.  From  these  he  assembled  an  army, 
the  greatest  that  has  ever  gone  to  war.  This 
mass  of  men  from  all  over  the  Eastern  world  he 
hurled  at  the  tiny  free  states  in  Greece.  It  was  as 
if  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias  with  his  vast  armies 
from  Europe  and  Asia  should  suddenly  attack 
the  state  of  Connecticut. 

Greece's  best  defense  was  the  ring  of  rugged 
mountains  which  surrounded  its  seacoast.  The 
Persian  army  had  gathered  at  Sardis.  From 
there   to   gain  entrance   into   Greece   they   must 


256  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

follow  a  narrow  path  close  to  the  seashore  with  a 
precipice  on  one  side  and  impassable  morasses 
and  quicksands  on  the  other.  Beyond  this  the 
way  widened  out  into  a  little  plain  and  narrowed 
again  at  the  other  end.  It  was  an  ideal  place 
to  be  held  by  a  small  army  of  brave  men. 
A  Council  of  all  the  states  of  Greece  was 
held  at  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth.  There  all 
the  states  except  one  resolved  to  fight  to  the 
death  for  their  freedom.  Thessaly  alone,  which 
lay  first  in  the  path  of  the  Great  King,  sent 
earth  and  water  to  his  envoys  who  had  come  to 
all  the  states  in  Greece  to  demand  submission. 
The  Council  sent  to  guard  this  pass,  which  was 
named  Thermopylae,  a  little  army  of  four  thousand 
men.  It  was  commanded  by  Leonidas,  one  of 
the  two  kings  of  Sparta,  who  led  a  little  band  of 
three  hundred  Spartans  who  had  sworn  never  to 
retreat.  Before  they  left  Sparta,  each  man  cele- 
brated his  own  funeral  rites.  This  little  army 
built  a  wall  across  the  pass  and  camped  there 
waiting  for  the  enemy.  Before  long  they  were 
seen  coming,  covering  the  whole  country  with 
army  after  army  until  the  plain  below  the  pass  was 
filled  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see  with  hordes  of 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  257 

marching,  shouting  warriors.  High  on  the  moun- 
tainside a  throne  had  been  built  for  Xerxes  where 
he  could  see  and  watch  his  armies  sweep  through 
the  little  force  which  stood  in  their  way.  His 
great  nobles  waited  for  the  chance  to  display- 
before  him  their  leadership  and  the  splendid 
equipment  and  discipline  of  the  armies  which 
they  led.  The  first  attack  was  made  by  an  army 
of  the  Persians  and  Medes  themselves,  supported 
by  archers  and  slingers  and  flanked  with  cohorts 
of  magnificently  appareled  horsemen  mounted  on 
Arab  steeds.  With  a  wild  crash  of  barbaric 
music  they  rushed  to  the  charge  expecting  by 
mere  weight  of  numbers  to  break  through  the 
thin  line  of  men  who  manned  the  little  wall  across 
the  path,  but  the  slave  regiments  of  the  Persians 
were  made  up  of  men  who  were  trained  under 
the  lash.  They  were  officered  by  great  nobles 
who  had  led  self-indulgent  lives  of  luxury  and 
pleasure.  Against  them  was  a  band  of  free  men, 
every  one  an  athlete  and  able  to  use  weapons 
which  the  lighter  and  weaker  Persians  could  not 
withstand.  The  onslaught  broke  on  the  spears 
and  long  swords  of  the  Spartan  warriors  and  in  a 
minute  there  was  a  huddle  of  beaten,  screaming 


258    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

men  and  plunging  horses  and  demoralized  officers. 
Into  the  broken  and  defeated  ranks  plunged  the 
Greeks  and  drove  them  far  down  the  plain,  return- 
ing in  safety  to  their  ramparts  with  the  loss  of 
hardly  a  man.  Again  and  again  this  happened 
and  regiment  after  regiment  from  the  inexhaust- 
ible forces  of  the  Persians  were  hurled  against  the 
wall  only  to  be  dashed  backward  and  driven 
defeated  down  the  plain  by  the  impenetrable  line 
of  heavy-armed  Greeks.  Three  times  did  Xerxes 
the  Great  King  leap  from  his  throne  in  rage  and 
despair  as  he  saw  his  best  troops  slaughtered  and 
defeated  by  this  tiny  band  of  fighters.  For  two 
days  this  went  on  until  the  plain  in  front  of  the 
wall  was  covered  with  dead  and  dying  Persians 
and  mercenaries  while  the  Greeks  had  hardly  any 
losses. 

Baffled  and  dispirited  Xerxes  was  actually  on 
the  point  of  leading  back  his  great  army  when  a 
traitor,  for  a  great  sum  of  gold,  betrayed  a  secret 
path  up  the  mountainside.  It  was  none  other 
than  the  bottom  of  a  mountain  torrent  through 
the  shallow  water  of  which  men  could  wade  and 
find  a  way  which  would  lead  them  safely  around 
to  the  rear  of  the  Grecian  army.     On  the  early 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  259 

morning  of  the  third  day  word  was  brought  to 
Leonidas  that  the  enemy  had  gained  the  heights 
above  and  that  by  noon  they  would  leave  the 
plain  and  entirely  encircle  the  little  Grecian  army. 
A  hasty  council  of  war  was  called.  All  of  the 
allied  forces  except  the  Spartans  agreed  that  the 
position  could  not  be  held  further  and  advised  an 
honorable  retreat.  The  Spartan  band  alone  re- 
fused to  go,  although  Leonidas  tried  to  save  two 
of  his  kinsmen  by  giving  them  letters  and  mes- 
sages to  Sparta.  One  of  them  answered  that  he 
had  come  to  fight  and  not  to  carry  letters  and  the 
other  that  his  deeds  would  tell  all  that  Sparta 
needed  to  know.  Another  one  named  Dienices, 
when  told  that  the  enemy's  archers  were  so  nu- 
merous that  their  arrows  darkened  the  sun,  re- 
plied, "  So  much  the  better,  for  we  shall  fight  in 
the  shade." 

The  little  band  took  a  farewell  of  their  com- 
rades and  watched  them  march  away  and  then 
without  waiting  to  be  attacked,  this  tiny  body  of 
three  hundred  men  marched  out  from  behind  their 
ramparts  and  attacked  a  force  nearly  ten  thousand 
times  their  own  number.  Right  through  the 
slave-ranks  they  broke  and  fought  their  way  to  a 


26o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

little  hillock  where  back  to  back  they  defended 
themselves  a.gainst  the  whole  vast  army  of  the 
Persians.  Again  and  again  waves  of  men  dashed 
up  from  all  sides  against  this  little  hill,  but  only  to 
fall  back  leaving  their  dead  behind.  At  last  the 
spears  of  the  Spartans  broke  and  they  fought  un- 
til their  swords  were  dulled  and  dashed  out  of 
their  hands.  Then  they  fought  on  with  their 
daggers,  with  their  hands  and  their  teeth  until  not 
one  living  man  was  left,  but  only  a  mound  of 
slain,  bristled  over  with  arrows  and  surrounded  by 
ring  after  ring  of  dead  Persians,  Medes,  Arabs, 
Ethiopians  and  the  other  mercenaries  which  had 
been  dashed  against  them.  So  died  Leonidas 
and  his  band  of  heroes.  Nearly  ten  thousand  of 
the  Persian  army  lay  dead  around  them  during 
the  three  days  of  hand-to-hand  fighting.  By  their 
death  they  had  gained  time  for  the  armies  of  the 
Grecian  states  to  organize  and,  best  of  all,  they 
had  taught  Persian  and  Greek  alike  that  brave 
men  cannot  be  beaten  down  by  mere  numbers. 

Leonidas  and  his  band  are  drifting  dust.  The 
stone  lion  and  the  pillar  with  the  names  of  those 
that  died  that  marked  the  battle-mound  have 
crumbled    and   passed  away  long  centuries  ago. 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  261 

Even  the  blood-stained  Pass  itself  has  gone  and 
the  sea  has  drawn  back  many  miles  and  there  is 
no  longer  the  morass,  the  path  or  the  precipice. 

After  the  passage  of  more  than  twoscore  cen- 
turies in  a  new  world  of  which  Leonidas  never 
dreamed,  in  another  great  war  between  freedom 
and  slavery,  this  same  great  deed  was  wrought 
again  by  another  three  hundred  men  who  laid 
down  their  lives  to  hold  back  an  enemy  and  dying 
saved  an  army  and  perhaps  a  nation.  Their  story 
might  almost  be  the  old,  old  hero  story  of  the 
lost  Spartan  band. 

The  great  Civil  War  was  in  its  third  year.  Dis- 
aster after  disaster  had  overtaken  the  Union 
armies.  English  writers  were  already  chronicling 
The  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  American  Republic. 
It  was  a  time  of  darkness  and  peril.  The  great 
leaders  who  were  afterward  to  win  great  vic- 
tories had  not  yet  arrived.  Under  McClellan 
nothing  had  been  accomplished.  At  the  first  trial 
Burnside  failed  at  the  terrible  battle  of  Fredericks- 
burg where  nearly  thirteen  thousand  Union  sol- 
diers— the  flower  of  the  army — died  for  naught. 
There  was  another  shift  and  "  Fighting  Joe 
Hooker "    took   command   of   the   Army   of   the 


262    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Potomac.  Through  continuous  defeats,  the  great 
army  had  become  disheartened  and  the  men  were 
sullen  and  discouraged.  It  was  a  time  of  shame- 
ful desertions.  The  express  trains  to  the  army 
were  filled  with  packages  of  citizens'  clothes 
which  parents  and  wives  and  brothers  and  sisters 
were  sending  to  their  kindred  to  help  them  desert 
from  the  army.  Hooker  changed  all  this.  He 
was  brave,  energetic  and  full  of  life  and  before 
long  the  soldiers  were  again  ready  and  anxious 
to  fight.  Unfortunately,  their  general,  in  spite  of 
his  many  good  qualities,  did  not  have  those  which 
would  make  him  the  leader  of  a  successful  army. 
He  was  vain,  boastful  and  easily  overcome  and 
confused  by  any  unexpected  check  or  defeat.  En- 
camped on  the  Rappahannock  River  he  had  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  men  against  the 
sixty  thousand  of  the  Confederate  forces  on  the 
other  side.  These  sixty  thousand,  however,  in- 
cluded Robert  E.  Lee,  the  great  son  of  a  great 
father,  as  their  general.  "  Light-Horse  Harry 
Lee,"  his  father,  had  been  one  of  the  great  cavalry 
commanders  of  the  Revolution  and  one  of  Wash- 
ington's most  trusted  generals.  With  Robert  E. 
Lee  was  Stonewall  Jackson,  the  great  flanker  who 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  263 

has  never  been  equaled  in  daring,  rapid,  decisive, 
brilliant  flanking,  turning  movements  which  so 
often  are  what  decide  great  battles.  Hooker  de- 
cided to  fight.  By  the  night  of  April  30,  1863,  no 
less  than  four  army  corps  crossed  the  river  in 
safety  and  were  assembled  at  the  little  village  of 
Chancellorsville  under  his  command.  His  confi- 
dence was  shown  in  the  boastful  order  which  he 
issued  just  before  the  battle. 

"  The  operations  of  the  last  three  days,"  he  de- 
clared, "  have  determined  that  our  enemy  must 
either  ingloriously  fly  or  come  out  from  behind 
his  defenses  and  give  us  battle  on  our  own  ground 
where  certain  destruction  awaits  him." 

Well  might  it  have  been  said  to  him  as  to  an- 
other boaster  in  the  days  of  old,  "  Let  not  him 
that  girdeth  on  his  armor  boast  as  him  that  taketh 
it  off." 

The  morning  of  the  battle  came  and  Hooker 
said  to  his  generals  that  he  had  the  Confederates 
where  God  Almighty  Himself  could  not  save 
them.  At  first  Lee  retreated  before  his  advance, 
but  when  he  had  reached  a  favorable  position, 
suddenly  turned  and  drove  back  the  Union  forces 
with  such  energy  that  Hooker  lost  heart  and  or- 


264    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

dered  his  men  to  fall  back  to  a  better  position. 
This  was  done  against  the  protests  of  all  of  his 
division  commanders  who  felt  as  did  Meade,  after- 
ward the  hero  of  Gettysburg,  who  exclaimed  to 
General  Hooker,  "  If  we  can't  hold  the  top  of  a 
hill,  we  certainly  can't  hold  the  bottom  of  it." 

Hooker  took  a  position  in  the  Wilderness,  a 
tangled  forest  mixed  with  impenetrable  thickets 
of  dwarf  oak  and  underbrush.  Here  he  hoped 
that  Lee  would  make  a  direct  attack,  but  this 
pause  gave  the  great  Confederate  general  the  one 
chance  which  he  wanted.  All  that  night  Jackson 
with  thirty  thousand  men  marched  half-way  round 
the  Union  Army.  Again  and  again  word  was 
sent  to  Hooker  that  the  Confederate  forces  were 
marching  toward  his  flank,  but  he  could  see  in 
the  movement  nothing  but  a  retreat  and  sent  word 
that  they  were  withdrawing  so  as  to  save  their 
baggage  trains.  At  three  o'clock  the  next  after- 
noon Jackson  was  at  last  in  position.  In  front  of 
Hooker's  army  lay  the  main  forces  of  Lee.  Half- 
way to  the  rear  of  his  forces  were  Jackson's  mag- 
nificent veterans.  The  first  warning  of  the  fatal 
attack  which  nearly  caused  the  loss  of  the  great 
Union  Army  of  the  Potomac  came  from  the  wild 


u 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  265 

rush  of  deer  and  rabbits  which  had  been  driven 
from  their  lairs  by  the  quick  march  of  the  Con- 
federate soldiers  through  the  forest.  Following 
the  charge  of  the  frightened  animals  came  the 
tremendous  attack  of  Jackson's  infantry,  the 
toughest,  hardiest,  bravest,  best-trained  troops  in 
the  Confederate  Army.  The  Union  soldiers 
fought  well,  but  they  were  new  troops  taken  by 
surprise  and  as  soon  as  the  roar  of  the  volleys  of 
the  attacking  Confederates  sounded  from  the  rear, 
Lee  advanced,  with  every  man  in  his  army  and 
smashed  into  Hooker's  front.  The  surprise  and 
the  shock  of  possible  defeat  instead  of  expected 
victory  was  too  much  for  a  man  of  Hooker's  tem- 
perament. At  the  time  when  he  most  needed  a 
clear  mind  and  unflinching  nerve,  he  fell  into  a 
state  of  almost  complete  nervous  collapse.  The 
battle  was  practically  fought  without  a  leader, 
every  corps  commander  did  the  best  he  could,  but 
in  a  short  time  the  converging  attacks  of  the  two 
great  Confederate  leaders  cut  the  army  in  two  and 
defeat  was  certain.  At  this  time  came  the  great- 
est loss  which  the  Confederate  Army  had  received 
up  to  that  day.  Stonewall  Jackson's  men  had 
charged  through  the  forest  and  cut  deeply  into 


266    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

the  flank  of  the  Union  Army.  After  their  charge 
the  Confederate  front  was  in  confusion  owing  to 
the  thick  and  tangled  woods  in  which  they  fought. 
Jackson  had  ridden  forward  beyond  his  troops  in 
order  to  reform  them.  The  fleeing  Union  sol- 
diers rallied  for  a  minute  and  fired  a  volley  at 
the  little  party  which  Jackson  was  leading.  He 
turned  back  to  rejoin  his  own  troops  and  in  the 
darkness  and  confusion  he  and  his  men  were 
mistaken  for  Union  cavalry  and  received  a  volley 
from  their  own  forces  which  dashed  Jackson  out 
of  his  saddle  with  a  wound  in  his  left  arm  which 
afterward  turned  out  to  be  mortal.  At  that  time 
General  Lee  sent  his  celebrated  message  to  Jack- 
son, "  You  are  luckier  than  I  for  your  left  arm 
only  is  wounded,  but  when  you  were  disabled,  I 
lost  my  right  arm." 

In  a  short  time  the  whole  Union  Army  was 
nothing  but  a  disorganized  mass  of  men,  horses, 
ambulance-wagons,  artillery  and  commissary 
trains,  all  striving  desperately  to  cross  the  Rap- 
pahannock before  the  pursuing  Confederates 
could  turn  the  retreat  into  a  massacre.  Unless 
the  Confederate  pursuit  could  be  held  back  long 
enough  to  let  the  men  cross  the  river  and  reform 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  267 

on  the  opposite  bank,  the  whole  army  was  lost. 
History  is  full  of  the  terrible  disasters  which  over- 
take an  army  which  is  caught  by  the  enemy  while 
in  the  confusion  of  crossing  a  river.  General 
Pleasonton  of  Pennsylvania  was  in  command  of 
the  rear  of  the  Federal  retreat.  He  was  striving 
desperately  to  mount  his  guns  so  as  to  sweep  the 
only  road  which  led  to  the  river  and  hold  back 
the  Confederate  forces  long  enough  to  let  his  men 
cross.  Already  the  van  of  the  Union  Army  had 
reached  the  ford  when  far  down  the  road  appeared 
the  whole  corps  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  maddened 
by  the  loss  of  their  great  leader.  Every  man  that 
Pleasonton  had  was  working  desperately  to  get 
the  guns  into  position,  but  it  was  evident  that 
they  would  be  captured  and  their  pursuers  would 
sweep  into  the  huddle  which  was  crossing  the 
river  unless  something  could  be  done  to  hold 
them  back.  As  the  general  looked  silently  down 
the  road,  he  saw  near  to  him  Major  Keenan  of 
the  Pennsylvania  cavalry =  Keenan  had  been  a 
porter  in  a  Philadelphia  store,  but  his  rare  faculty 
for  handling  men  and  horses  had  made  him  one 
of  the  most  efficient  cavalry  officers  of  any  Penn- 
sylvania regiment.     The  three  companies  which 


268    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

were  with  him  were  all  the  cavalry  that  Pleasonton 
had.  They  were  bringing  up  the  rear  of  the 
retreat  like  a  pack  of  wolves  who,  though  driven 
back  from  their  prey,  move  off  sullenly  only 
waiting  for  the  signal  from  their  leader  to  turn 
again  and  fight.  General  Pleasonton  had  rallied 
his  gunners  and  they  would  stand  if  only  they 
had  a  chance.  There  was  no  hope  of  bringing 
any  order  into  the  mass  of  broken,  terrified  in- 
fantry rushing  on  toward  the  river. 

"  Major  Keenan,"  shouted  General  Pleasonton, 
"  how  many  men  have  you  got?  " 

"Three  hundred,  General,"  replied  Keenan, 
quietly. 

"  Major,"  said  the  general,  low  and  earnestly, 
riding  up  to  him,  "  we  must  have  ten  minutes  to 
save  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Charge  the  Con- 
federate advance  and  hold  them  !" 

Keenan  never  hesitated.  When  the  Six  Hundred 
charged  at  Balaclava,  some  of  them  came  back  from 
the  bite  of  the  Russian  sabres  and  the  roar  of  the 
Muscovite  guns.  When  Pickett  made  that  desper- 
ate, fatal  charge  at  Gettysburg,  there  was  still  a 
chance  to  retreat,  but  Major  Keenan  knew  that 
when   three  hundred  cavalry   met  the  fixed  bay- 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  269 

onets  of  thirty  thousand  infantry  on  a  narrow 
road,  not  one  would  ever  return.  It  was  not  a 
splendid  charge  which  might  mean  laurels  of 
victory,  but  a  hopeless  going  to  death,  the  buying 
of  ten  minutes  of  time  with  the  lives  of  three 
hundred  men,  yet  neither  Keenan  nor  his  men 
questioned  the  price  nor  flinched  at  the  order. 

The  sunlight  of  the  last  day  he  was  to  see  on 
earth  caught  the  gleam  of  his  uplifted  sabre  as  he 
gave  the  quick,  sharp  command  to  charge.  He 
flung  his  cap  into  the  bushes,  bent  his  head  and 
rode  bareheaded  in  front  of  his  flying  column 
and  then  like  an  avalanche,  like  a  hurricane  of 
horse,  he  and  his  three  hundred  men  thundered 
down  the  narrow  road.  Just  around  the  curve, 
with  a  crash  that  broke  the  necks  of  a  score  of 
the  leading  horses,  this  charging  column  hurled 
themselves  against  the  astonished,  packed  ranks 
of  infantry  rushing  on  with  fixed  bayonets.  For 
five,  for  ten,  for  fifteen  minutes  horses  rose  and 
fell  to  the  clashing  of  dripping  sabres  and  the 
bark  of  revolvers  thrust  into  the  faces  of  the  on- 
coming foemen.  For  fifteen  long  minutes  there 
was  a  swirl  and  a  flurry  which  held  back  the  head 
of   the   charging   forces   and   then    shattered   by 


270    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

volley  after  volley  of  musketry  and  pierced  by 
thousands  of  charging  bayonets,  horse  and  men 
alike  went  down.  Not  one  ever  came  back. 
Keenan  and  his  Three  Hundred  had  bought  the 
ten  minutes  and  had  thrown  in  five  more  for  good 
measure  and  the  price  was  paid.  The  head  of 
the  Confederate  column  reformed,  passed  over 
and  by  the  struggling  horses  and  the  silent, 
mangled  men  and  then  again  swept  on  around 
the  bend  and  down  the  road  toward  the  fords 
crowded  with  a  hundred  thousand  helpless,  escap- 
ing soldiers.  General  Pleasonton,  however,  had 
made  good  use  of  those  precious  moments.  As 
the  Confederate  column  came  around  the  curve, 
they  were  met  by  a  hell  of  grape  and  canister 
from  the  batteries  which  at  last  had  been  mounted 
in  position.  Right  into  their  front  roared  the 
guns  and  the  road  was  a  shamble  of  writhing, 
struggling,  dying  men.  No  army  ever  marched 
that  could  stand  up  against  the  grim  storm  of 
death  that  swept  down  that  road  and  in  a  moment 
the  Confederate  forces  broke  and  rushed  back 
for  shelter.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  saved. 
Bought  at  a  great  price,  it  was  yet  to  be  ham- 
mered  and    forged   and    welded    under   a    great 


THE  THREE  HUNDRED  271 

leader    into    the   sword   which  was   to   save   the 
Union. 

"  Year  after  year,  the  pine  cones  fall, 

And  the  whippoorwill  lisps  her  spectral  call. 

They  have  ceased,  but  their  glory  will  never  cease, 
Nor  their  light  be  quenched  in  the  light  of  peace. 

The  rush  of  the  charge  is  sounding  still, 
That  saved  the  Army  at  Chancellorsville." 


CHAPTER  XIV 
The  Rescue  of  the  Scouts 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS 

THE  man  who  will  risk  his  life  for  his  friends, 
the  leader  who  never  deserts  his  band,  the  soldier 
who  will  not  escape  alone,  these  are  the  men 
whom  history  has  always  hailed  as  heroes.  Some 
of  the  greatest  stories  of  devotion  and  courage 
have  been  those  which  chronicle  the  rescue  of 
men  from  almost  certain  death.  Courage  and 
devotion  have  often  opened  the  dark  doors  of 
dungeons,  stricken  the  fetters  from  despairing 
prisoners  and  saved  men  doomed  to  death  from 
the  stake,  the  block  and  the  gallows. 

When  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  the  lot  of  the 
few  Union  men  left  in  the  South  was  a  hard  one. 
The  fierce  passions  of  those  days  ran  so  high  that 
not  only  was  a  Unionist  himself  liable  to  death 
and  the  confiscation  of  his  property,  but  even 
his  family  were  not  safe.  In  1863  there  was  a 
Georgian   who    assumed    the   name   of  William 


276    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Morford  in  order  to  protect  those  of  his  family 
who  lived  in  Georgia  from  the  bitter  hatred  which 
his  services  for  the  Union  had  aroused.  He  was 
one  of  many  devoted  scouts  who  worked  secretly 
and  single-handed  for  their  country,  claiming  no 
reward  if  they  won  and  losing  their  lives  on  the 
gallows  if  they  lost.  Morford  throughout  1863 
was  attached  to  the  command  of  General  Rose- 
crans  and  performed  many  a  feat  during  that 
stormy  year.  It  was  Morford  who  burned  an 
important  bridge  under  the  very  eyes  of  a  Con- 
federate regiment  sent  to  guard  it  and  who,  when 
the  light  from  the  flames  made  escape  impossible, 
coolly  mingled  with  the  guards  and  actually  re- 
ceived their  congratulations  for  his  bravery  in  at- 
tempting to  put  out  the  fire  which  he  himself  had 
lighted.  It  was  Morford  who  single-handed  cap- 
tured a  Confederate  colonel  while  he  was  sleeping 
in  a  house  surrounded  by  his  regiment  and  with 
his  staff  in  the  next  room.  Morford  obtained  ac- 
cess to  him  under  pretense  of  bearing  an  impor- 
tant oral  dispatch  from  General  Beauregard  him- 
self. They  were  left  alone  with  an  armed  sentry 
just  outside  the  half-opened  door.  Stepping  to 
one   side   so   that   he   could  not  be  seen  by  the 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      277 

guard,  Morford  suddenly  placed  a  cocked  re- 
volver close  against  the  substantial  stomach  of 
the  colonel. 

"  I  have  been  sent,  Colonel,"  he  muttered 
sternly,  "  to  either  capture  or  kill  you.  I  would 
rather  capture  you,  for  if  I  kill  you  I  shall  have  to 
fight  my  way  out,  but  it  is  for  you  to  say  which 
it  shall  be." 

The  colonel  was  a  brave  officer,  but  a  cocked 
revolver  against  one's  stomach  is  discouraging 
even  for  a  hero.  He  decided  instantly  that  he 
much  preferred  being  a  prisoner  to  being  a  corpse 
and  said  as  much  to  Morford. 

"  Well,"  said  the  latter,  still  in  a  tone  so  low 
that  the  sentry  could  not  make  out  the  words, 
"  I'm  glad  you  feel  that  way.  Get  your  hat  and 
tell  the  guard  that  you're  going  to  take  me  out 
for  a  talk  with  some  of  the  other  officers.  I'll  be 
right  behind  you  with  this  revolver  in  my  sleeve 
and  if  anything  goes  wrong,  two  bullets  will  go 
through  the  small  of  your  back." 

With  this  stimulant,  the  colonel  arranged 
matters  entirely  to  the  scout's  satisfaction.  He 
led  the  way  out  of  the  house  and  through  the 
lines,  giving  the  countersign  himself,  in  a  some- 


278    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

what  shaky  voice,  and  in  a  short  time  the  two 
found  themselves  within  the  Union  lines. 

"  I  hope  I  didn't  startle  you  too  much,  Colonel," 
said  Morford,  as  he  turned  his  prisoner  over  to 
the  guard.  "  You  weren't  in  any  danger,  for  my 
revolver  wasn't  loaded.  I  didn't  find  it  out  until 
just  as  I  got  to  your  lines  and  I  figured  out  that 
I  probably  wouldn't  have  to  shoot  anyway." 

As  this  is  a  book  for  good  boys  and  girls,  it 
would  not  be  proper  to  set  down  the  colonel's 
language  as  he  looked  at  the  empty  chambers  of 
Morford's  revolver. 

Another  time  the  scout  was  sent  by  General 
Rosecrans  to  find  out  whether  certain  steamboats 
were  on  the  Hiawassee  and  if  so,  where  they  were 
located.  On  this  trip  he  climbed  Cumberland 
Mountain  and  on  looking  down  over  the  famous 
Cumberland  Gap,  he  discovered  a  force  of  Con- 
federates who  were  busily  engaged  in  fortifying 
the  Gap  so  as  to  prevent  any  federal  troops  from 
passing  through  it.  The  force  consisted  of  twenty 
soldiers  and  forty  or  fifty  negroes  who  were  doing 
the  work.  Morford  made  up  his  mind  that  it  was 
his  business  as  a  Union  scout  to  stop  all  such 
work.     Standing  out  in  full  sight  of  the  troop,  he 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      279 

fired  his  revolver  at  the  officer  in  command.  The 
shot  killed  the  leader's  horse,  and  horse  and  man 
pitched  over  into  the  little  troop  throwing  it  into 
confusion.  Morford  at  once  fired  a  second  time 
and  then  turning,  waved  his  hand  to  an  imaginary- 
aide  and  shouted  so  that  the  Confederates  could 
hear : 

"  Run  back  and  tell  the  regiment  to  hurry  up." 

He  then  turned  to  the  opposite  ridge  and 
shouted  across  the  Gap  to  another  imaginary 
force  : 

"  Lead  your  men  down  that  path  and  close  in 
on  'em.  Hurry  up.  My  men  will  come  from  this 
side  and  we'll  beat  you  down." 

By  this  time  the  Confederate  officer  was  on  his 
feet  again  and  started  to  rally  his  men.  Morford 
made  a  rush  toward  them,  firing  his  revolver  as 
he  came,  waving  his  arms  in  both  directions, 
shouting  to  his  imaginary  forces  and  bellowing  at 
the  top  of  his  tremendous  voice — "  Come  on, 
boys,  we've  got  them  now.  Surround  'em.  Don't 
let  a  man  escape  !  " 

The  negro  workmen  felt  that  this  was  no  place 
for  neutrals  and  they  dropped  their  shovels  and 
made   a   rush   for   the   mouth  of  the  Gap.     The 


28o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Confederate  soldiers  stood  for  a  minute,  but  as 
they  saw  Morford  rushing  toward  them,  they 
broke  and  followed  the  workmen.  The  scout 
chased  them  until  he  saw  that  they  were  well  on 
their  way  and  then  started  back  along  the  ridge 
chuckling  to  himself  over  the  way  in  which  they 
had  scattered.  He  laughed  too  soon.  The  Con- 
federates had  not  gone  far  before  they  found  out 
the  trick  which  had  been  played  upon  them. 
They  turned  back  and  in  a  short  time  fifty  men 
were  riding  along  the  ridge  at  full  speed  to  cap- 
ture the  Yankee  who  had  fooled  them  so.  Unfor- 
tunately for  Morford,  he  had  kept  to  the  path 
along  the  ridge  which  was  better  going,  but 
which  offered  very  little  chance  of  escape,  since 
on  one  side  was  a  sheer  precipice  while  on  the 
other  was  a  long,  bare  slope  which  offered  no 
place  for  concealment.  From  the  top  of  a  little 
knoll  he  caught  sight  of  the  Confederates  before 
they  saw  him.  At  that  time  they  were  only  a 
half  mile  behind.  The  scout  tried  to  escape  by 
running  far  out  on  a  rocky  spur  which  jutted  out 
over  the  Gap  and  which  was  filled  with  trees, 
hoping  that  he  might  dodge  in  among  these, 
double  on  his  pursuers  and  so  get  away.     The 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       281 

same  officer,  however,  whom  he  had  unhorsed 
caught  sight  of  him  as  he  ran  from  one  tree  to  an- 
other and  with  a  tremendous  shout,  the  whole 
band  galloped  after  him  at  full  speed.  Morford 
had  hoped  that  as  the  way  led  up  a  steep  hill 
covered  with  rocks,  his  pursuers  would  have  to 
dismount,  but  they  were  riding  horses  which  had 
been  bred  in  the  mountains  and  which  were 
trained  to  go  up  and  down  hill-paths  like  goats. 
They  gained  on  him  fast.  Spreading  out  they 
cut  off  every  chance  of  his  escaping  back  to  the 
slope  or  skirting  their  ranks.  There  was  nothing 
left  for  him  to  do  except  to  go  on  and  on  to  the 
very  edge  of  the  precipice.  The  scout  knew  that 
if  he  were  caught  he  would  be  hung  on  the  near- 
est tree  and  that  knowledge  was  a  considerable 
incentive  to  keep  ahead  of  his  pursuers  as  long  as 
possible.  He  ran  as  he  had  never  run  before  and 
as  he  could  follow  paths  too  narrow  for  the  horses, 
for  a  while  he  managed  to  hold  his  lead.  He 
could  see,  however,  that  some  of  the  band  had 
ridden  around  the  slope  and  held  the  whole  base 
of  the  spur  so  that  it  would  be  only  a  question  of 
time  before  he  would  be  hunted  out  and  caught. 
He  was  running  now  along  the  very  edge  of  the 


282    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

precipice  which  dropped  six  hundred  feet  to  the 
rocks  below.  The  gorge  narrowed  until  finally  at 
one  point  it  was  not  more  than  twenty  feet  wide. 
This  was  too  wide,  however,  for  the  scout  to  clear, 
even  if  he  were  not  wearing  heavy  boots  and 
carrying  a  rifle.  Several  feet  below  where  he 
stood,  on  the  opposite  shelf  a  hickory  tree  had 
grown  out  so  that  some  of  the  branches  extended 
within  ten  feet  of  his  side  of  the  gorge.  Below 
that  tree  was  a  fissure  through  the  rock  down 
which  a  desperate  man  might  possibly  clamber. 
It  was  a  slight  chance,  but  the  only  one  which  he 
had.  At  this  point  he  was  hidden  from  the  Con- 
federates by  a  wall  of  rock.  Without  allowing 
himself  to  stop,  for  fear  that  he  would  lose  his 
nerve,  Morford  took  a  run  and  launched  himself 
through  the  air  ten  feet  out  and  ten  feet  down 
against  the  spreading  boughs  of  the  hickory  tree. 
He  broke  through  them  with  a  rush  but  wound 
his  arms  desperately  around  the  bending  limbs 
and  though  they  bent  and  cracked,  the  tough 
wood  held  and  he  found  himself  firmly  hugging 
the  shaggy  bark  of  the  trunk  with  all  his  might. 
He  slid  down,  ripping  his  clothes  and  skin,  until 
finally  his  feet  touched  the  beginning  of  a  possible 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      283 

path  down  to  the  gorge.  He  could  hear  the 
shouts  of  his  pursuers  only  a  few  rods  away.  If 
they  had  gone  to  the  edge,  nothing  could  have 
saved  him,  as  they  would  have  shot  him  down  be- 
fore he  could  have  escaped,  but  they  beat  care- 
fully through  the  trees  and  rocks  for  fear  lest  he 
should  crawl  back  through  their  line.  Without 
stopping  to  weigh  his  chances,  Morford  let  himself 
drop  from  one  shelf  of  rock  to  another,  clinging 
to  every  little  crevice  and  every  twig  and  plant 
which  he  could  find.  Several  times  he  thought 
he  was  gone  as  his  feet  swung  off  into  the  space 
below,  but  always  he  managed  to  get  a  hand-grip 
on  some  rock  which  held,  and  almost  before  he 
realized  the  terrible  chance  he  had  taken,  he  had 
passed  down  the  side  of  the  cliff  and  was  safe 
around  a  bend  in  the  rock  which  hid  him  from 
view.  From  there  the  path  was  easier  and  in  a 
short  time  he  found  himself  in  the  gorge  far  below. 
There  he  crawled  carefully  along  behind  rocks 
and  took  advantage  of  every  bit  of  cover  and  in 
a  few  minutes  was  far  on  his  way,  leaving  the 
Confederates  to  hunt  for  hours  every  square  yard 
of  ground  on  the  rocky  promontory  whence  he 
had  come. 


284    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

This  was  but  one  of  many  similar  adventures 
which  made  the  name  of  Morford  feared  and 
hated  through  the  Confederate  states.  The  most 
desperate  as  well  as  the  most  generous  of  his 
many  exploits  was  his  rescue  of  three  fellow- 
scouts  who  were  held  in  jail  at  Harrison,  Tennes- 
see, and  were  to  be  shot  on  May  ist.  Morford 
was  then  in  Chattanooga  and  there  heard  of  the 
capture  of  these  scouts.  Chattanooga  at  that 
time  was  a  Confederate  town,  although  it  had  a 
number  of  Union  residents.  There  did  not  seem 
to  be  any  chance  of  rescuing  the  condemned  men, 
yet  from  the  minute  that  Morford  heard  that  these 
scouts  were  facing  death,  as  he  had  so  often 
faced  it,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
rescue  them  if  he  had  to  do  it  alone. 

Morford's  mother's  name  was  Kinmont  and  her 
earliest  ancestor  had  been  Kinmont  Willie,  cele- 
brated in  the  border-wars  between  England  and 
Scotland  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Many  and  many  a  time  had  she  sung  to  him  as  a 
child  an  old  Scotch  ballad  handed  down  for  cen- 
turies through  the  family,  which  told  of  the  rescue 
of  this  far-away  ancestor  by  his  leader  on  the  night 
before  the  day  fixed  for  his  execution.     In  1596 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       285 

Salkeld  was  the  deputy  of  Lord  Scroope,  the  Eng- 
lish warden  of  the  West  Marches,  while  the  Laird 
of  Buccleuch,  the  keeper  of  Liddesdale,  guarded  the 
Scotch  border.  In  that  year  these  two  held  meet- 
ings on  the  border-line  of  the  kingdoms  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  time  for  the  purpose  of 
arranging  differences  and  settling  disputes.  On 
these  occasions  a  truce  was  always  proclaimed 
from  the  day  of  the  meeting  until  the  next  day  at 
sunrise.  Kinmont  Willie  was  a  follower  of  the 
Laird  of  Buccleuch  and  was  hated  by  the  Eng- 
lishmen for  many  a  deed  of  arms  in  the  numerous 
border-raids  of  those  times.  After  the  conference 
he  was  returning  home  attended  by  only  three  or 
four  friends  when  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  a 
couple  of  hundred  Englishmen  and  in  spite  of  the 
truce  lodged  in  the  grim  Castle  of  Carlisle.  The 
Laird  of  Buccleuch  tried  first  to  free  him  by  ap- 
plying to  the  English  warden  and  even  to  the 
Scotch  embassador,  but  got  no  satisfaction  from 
either  and  when  at  last  he  heard  that  his  retainer 
was  to  be  hung  three  days  later,  he  took  the 
matter  into  his  own  hands,  gathered  together  two 
hundred  of  his  men,  surprised  the  Castle  of  Car- 
lisle and  rescued  Kinmont  Willie  by  force  of  arms. 


286    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

The  story  of  this  rescue  is  told  in  one  of  the  best 
as  well  as  one  of  the  least-known  of  the  Scotch 
ballads,  "  Kinmont  Willie,"  the  verses  of  which 
run  as  follows : 

0  have  ye  na  heard  o'  the  fause  Sakelde  ? 

O  have  ye  na  heard  o'  the  keen  Lord  Scroope  ? 
How  they  hae  ta'en  bauld  Kinmont  Willie, 
On  Haribee  to  hang  him  up? 

They  band  his  legs  beneath  the  steed, 
They  tied  his  hands  behind  his  back ; 

They  guarded  him,  fivesome  on  each  side, 
And  they  brought  him  over  the  Liddel-rack. 

Now  word  is  gane  to  the  bauld  Keeper, 
In  Branksome  Ha'  where  that  he  lay, 

That  Lord  Scroope  has  ta'en  the  Kinmont  Willie, 
Between  the  hours  of  night  and  day. 

He  has  ta'en  the  table  wi'  his  hand, 
He  garr'd  the  red  wine  spring  on  hie — 
"  Now  Christ's  curse  on  my  head,"  he  said, 
"  But  avenged  of  Lord  Scroope  I'll  be  ! 

"  O  were  there  war  between  the  lands, 
As  well  I  wot  that  there  is  none, 

1  would  slight  Carlisle  castell  high, 

Though  it  were  builded  of  marble  stone. 

**  I  would  set  that  castell  in  a  low, 

And  sloken  it  with  English  blood  ! 
There's  never  a  man  in  Cumberland, 
Should  ken  where  Carlisle  castell  stood. 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       287 

"  But  since  nae  war's  between  the  lands, 

And  there  is  peace,  and  peace  should  be  ; 
I'll  neither  harm  English  lad  or  lass, 
And  yet  the  Kinmont  freed  shall  be  !  " 

He  has  call'd  him  forty  Marchmen  bauld, 
Were  kinsmen  to  the  bauld  Buccleuch  j 

With  spur  on  heel,  and  splent  on  spauld, 
And  gleuves  of  green,  and  feathers  blue. 

And  as  we  cross'd  the  Bateable  Land, 

When  to  the  English  side  we  held, 
The  first  o'men  that  we  met  wi', 

Whae  sould  it  be  but  fause  Sakelde  ? 

'  Where  be  ye  gaun,  ye  hunters  keen  ?  " 

Quo'  fause  Sakelde  ;   "  come  tell  to  me  !  " 

'  We  go  to  hunt  an  English  stag, 

Has  trespass' d  on  the  Scots  countrie." 

'  Where  be  ye  gaun,  ye  marshal  men  ?  " 

Quo*  fause  Sakelde  ;   "  come  tell  me  true  !  " 

'  We  go  to  catch  a  rank  reiver, 

Has  broken  faith  wi'  the  bauld  Buccleuch." 

'  Where  are  ye  gaun,  ye  mason  lads, 

Wi'  a'  your  ladders  lang  and  hie  ?  " 
'  We  gang  to  herry  a  corbie's  nest, 

That  wons  not  far  frae  Woodhouselee. " 

*  Where  be  ye  gaun,  ye  broken  men  ?  " 

Quo'  fause  Sakelde;   "come  tell  to  me  !  " 
Now  Dickie  of  Dryhope  led  that  band, 
And  the  nevir  a  word  of  lear  had  he. 


288    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  Why  trespass  ye  on  the  English  side  ? 
Row-footed  outlaws,  stand  !  "  quo'  he  ; 
The  nevir  a  word  had  Dickie  to  say, 

Sae  he  thrust  the  lance  through  his  fause  bodie. 

And  when  we  left  the  Staneshaw-bank, 
The  wind  began  full  loud  to  blaw ; 

But  'twas  wind  and  weet,  and  fire  and  sleet, 
When  we  came  beneath  the  castle  wa'. 

We  crept  on  knees,  and  held  our  breath, 
Till  we  placed  the  ladders  against  the  wa' ; 

And  sae  ready  was  Buccleuch  himsell 
To  mount  the  first  before  us  a*. 

He  has  ta'en  the  watchman  by  the  throat, 

He  flung  him  down  upon  the  lead  — 

"  Had  there  not  been  peace  between  our  lands, 

Upon  the  other  side  thou  hadst  gaed  ! 

"  Now  sound  out,  trumpets  !  "  quo'  Buccleuch; 
"Let's  waken  Lord  Scroope  right  merrilie  !  " 
Then  loud  the  warden's  trumpet  blew  — 
"  O  wha  dare  meddle  wi'  me?  " 

Then  speedilie  to  work  we  gaed, 

And  raised  the  slogan  ane  and  a', 
And  cut  a  hole  through  a  sheet  of  lead, 

And  so  we  wan  to  the  castle  ha*. 

They  thought  King  James  and  a'  his  men 
Had  won  the  house  wi'  bow  and  spear ; 

It  was  but  twenty  Scots  and  ten, 
That  put  a  thousand  in  sic'  a  stear  ! 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       289 

Wi'  coulters,  and  wi'  forehammers, 

We  garr'd  the  bars  bang  merrilie, 
Until  we  came  to  the  inner  prison, 

Where  Willie  o'  Kinmont  he  did  lie. 

And  when  we  cam  to  the  lower  prison, 
Where  Willie  o'  Kinmont  he  did  lie  — 
"  O  sleep  ye,  wake  ye,  Kinmont  Willie, 
Upon  the  morn  that  thou's  to  die?  " 

"01  sleep  saft,  and  I  wake  aft, 

It's  lang  since  sleeping  was  fley'd  frae  me ; 
Gie  my  service  back  to  my  wife  and  bairns, 
And  a'  gude  fellows  that  spier  for  me." 

Then  Red  Rowan  has  hente  him  up, 
The  starkest  man  in  Teviotdale  — 
"  Abide,  abide  now,  Red  Rowan, 

Till  of  my  Lord  Scroope  I  take  farewell. 

"  Farewell,  farewell,  my  gude  Lord  Scroope  ! 

My  gude  Lord  Scroope,  farewell  !  "  he  cried  — 
"  I'll  pay  you  for  my  lodging  maill, 

When  first  we  meet  on  the  Border  side." 

Then  shoulder  high,  with  shout  and  cry, 
We  bore  him  down  the  ladder  lang ; 

At  every  stride  Red  Rowan  made, 

I  wot  the  Kinmont's  aims  play'd  clang. 

"  O  mony  a  time,"  quo'  Kinmont  Willie, 

"  I  have  ridden  horse  baith  wild  and  wood ; 
But  a  rougher  beast  than  Red  Rowan 
I  ween  my  legs  have  ne'er  bestrode. 


290    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  And  mony  a  time,"  quo'  Kinmont  Willie, 
"  I've  prick'd  a  horse  out  oure  the  furs; 
But  since  the  day  I  back'd  a  steed, 
I  never  wore  sic  cumbrous  spurs." 

We  scarce  had  won  the  Staneshaw-bank, 
When  a'  the  Carlisle  bells  were  rung, 

And  a  thousand  men  on  horse  and  foot 
Cam  wi'  the  keen  Lord  Scroope  along. 

Buccleuch  has  turn'd  to  Eden  Water, 
Even  where  it  flow'd  frae  bank  to  brim, 

And  he  has  plunged  in  wi'  a'  his  band, 
And  safely  swam  them  through  the  strem. 

He  turn'd  him  on  the  other  side, 

And  at  Lord  Scroope  his  glove  flung  he  — 
"  If  ye  like  na  my  visit  in  merry  England, 
In  fair  Scotland  come  visit  me  !  " 

All  sore  astonish 'd  stood  Lord  Scroope, 

He  stood  as  still  as  rock  of  stane ; 
He  scarcely  dared  to  trew  his  eyes, 

When  through  the  water  they  had  gone. 

"  He  is  either  himsell  a  devil  fra  hell, 
Or  else  his  mother  a  witch  maun  be ; 
I  wadna  have  ridden  that  wan  water, 
For  a'  the  gowd  in  Christentie." 

The  memory  of  that  brave  rescue  nearly  three 
hundred  years  before,  as  the  scout  afterward  told 
his  friends,  was  what  inspired  him  to  save  his 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       291 

fellow-scouts  as  Buccleuch  had  saved  the  first 
William  Kinmont.  By  saving  the  lives  of  these 
three  men  he  would  pay  with  interest  for  the  life 
of  his  ancestor.  Shakespeare  writes  somewhere 
that  the  good  which  men  do  is  oft  buried  with 
their  bones,  but  that  their  evil  deeds  live  on  for- 
ever. No  more  mistaken  lines  have  ever  been 
written.  Evil  brings  about  its  own  death.  No 
good  deed  is  ever  forgotten  or  ever  buried. 
Hundreds  of  years  later  it  may  flash  out  through 
the  dust  of  centuries  and  light  the  path  of  high 
endeavor. 

Morford  scoured  Chattanooga  and  finally  found 
nine  men  who  were  ready  to  go  with  him  and  try 
to  rescue  the  condemned  scouts.  Leaving  Chat- 
tanooga they  traveled  by  night  and  hid  by  day 
in  caves  and  thickets  among  the  mountains.  Oc- 
casionally they  would  meet  or  get  word  from  men 
whom  they  knew  to  be  Union  sympathizers. 
Finally  they  hid  on  the  top  of  Bear  Mountain 
which  towered  above  the  river  and  which  sep- 
arated them  from  Harrison  where  was  located  the 
jail.  Although  they  had  traveled  fast  and  far 
they  were  only  just  in  time.  The  second  noon 
after  the  night  when  they  reached  the  mountain 


2Q2    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

had  been  fixed  for  the  execution.  On  Bear 
Mountain  they  hid  in  a  cave  which  Morford  him- 
self had  discovered  when  hunting  there  many 
years  before.  It  could  only  be  reached  by  a  nar- 
row path  which  ran  along  a  shelf  of  rock  which 
jutted  out  over  a  precipice  three  hundred  feet 
deep.  The  path  turned  sharply  and  led  under  an 
enormous  overhanging  ledge  and  ended  in  a  deep 
cave  with  a  little  mountain  spring  bubbling  up 
on  a  mossy  slope  only  ten  feet  wide  which  led  up 
to  the  cave's  entrance.  Inside  was  a  dry,  high 
cavern  large  enough  to  hold  fifty  men.  It  could 
not  be  reached  from  above  by  reason  of  the  over- 
hanging ledge.  At  that  point  the  path  stopped 
and  where  the  slope  ended  was  a  sheer  drop  to 
the  rocks  below  which  extended  around  the  farther 
side  of  the  slope  so  that  the  only  entrance  was 
around  the  path's  bend  along  which  only  one  man 
could  pass  at  a  time.  Morford  reached  the  foot 
of  Bear  Mountain  just  at  sunset  and  led  his  little 
band  up  the  steep  side  by  a  winding  deer-path, 
the  entrance  to  which  was  concealed  in  a  tangled 
thicket  of  green  briar  and  could  only  be  reached 
by  crawling  underneath  the  sharp  thorns  like 
snakes.     The  path  to  the  cave  was  no  place  for  a 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      293 

man  with  weak  nerves.  It  was  bad  enough  as  it 
skirted  the  precipice,  but  where  it  took  a  sharp 
bend  around  the  jutting  point  of  rock,  it  narrowed 
to  nothing  more  than  a  foothold  not  three  inches 
wide.  He  who  would  pass  into  the  cave  must 
turn  with  his  back  to  the  precipice  and  edge  his 
way  with  arms  outstretched  along  the  smooth  face 
of  the  rock  for  nearly  ten  feet.  The  point  at  the 
turn  was  the  worst.  There  it  was  necessary  to 
take  one  foot  off  the  ledge  and  grope  for  a  tiny 
foothold  below  the  path  while  one  shuffled  around 
the  curve.  It  was  not  absolutely  necessary  for 
Morford  and  his  men  to  spend  the  night  in  this 
cave.  There  were  other  places  where  they  could 
have  stayed  in  safety,  as  no  one  suspected  their 
presence.  Morford,  however,  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  choose  his  men  with  the  utmost  care.  It 
was  necessary  in  order  to  save  the  lives  of  the 
three  condemned  scouts  to  pass  through  the  camp 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  ring  of  guards  encircling 
the  jail,  break  open  the  jail,  rescue  the  prisoners 
and  break  out  again.  It  was  a  desperate  chance 
and  Morford's  only  hope  of  success  was  to  have 
men  who  would  show  absolute  coolness  and  dar- 
ing throughout  the  whole  adventure.     The  nine 


294    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

men  whom  he  had  selected  all  bore  a  high  repu- 
tation for  courage,  but  Morford  decided  like 
Gideon  of  old  to  cut  out  every  factor  of  weakness 
and  leave  only  the  picked  men.  When  Gideon 
was  chosen  of  God  to  rescue  the  children  of  Israel 
from  the  unnumbered  host  of  Midianites  and 
Amalekites  and  the  other  Bedouin  hordes  of  the 
desert  which  were  encamped  in  the  great  valley 
that  lay  at  the  hill  of  Moreh,  he  started  with  a 
force  of  thirty-two  thousand.  When  this  army 
looked  down  upon  the  innumerable  hosts  of  the 
fierce  desert  warriors,  it  began  to  weaken  and 
Gideon  sent  back  twenty-two  thousand  soldiers 
who  had  showed  signs  of  fear.  The  night  before 
the  day  fixed  for  battle,  Gideon  decided  to  select 
from  this  ten  thousand  a  picked  band  of  men  who 
would  be  not  only  brave,  but  watchful  and  ready 
for  any  emergency.  As  his  army  swarmed  down 
to  the  water-hole  Gideon  watched  the  men  as  they 
drank.  They  had  kept  watch  and  ward  on  that 
bare  sun-smitten  mountain  top  all  through  the 
long,  hot  day.  As  they  came  to  the  water  some 
of  the  thirsty  men  dashed  forward  out  of  the  ranks 
and  fell  on  their  faces  and  lapped  the  water  like 
dogs  without  a  thought  that  there  might  be  an 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       295 

ambush  at  the  ford  and  without  a  care  that  they 
were  lying  absolutely  defenseless  before  any 
enemy  who  might  attack  them.  Others  kneeled 
on  their  hands  and  knees  and  drank.  Of  the  ten 
thousand  only  three  hundred  had  bravery  and 
self-control  enough  to  maintain  the  discipline  of 
a  vigilant  army.  Without  laying  down  their 
weapons  they  drank  as  a  deer  drinks,  watching 
on  every  side  for  fear  of  a  surprise.  With  one  hand 
they  scooped  up  the  water,  in  the  other  they  held 
fast  their  weapon.  It  was  slower,  but  it  was  safer. 
These  three  hundred  men  Gideon  chose  for  that 
band  which  for  three  thousand  years  has  been  the 
symbol  of  bravery  and  watchfulness.  With  this 
little  force  just  before  dawn  he  burst  down  upon 
the  sleeping  Midianites  which  were  as  the  sand 
by  the  sea  for  multitude.  The  three  hundred 
were  divided  into  three  companies.  Each  man 
carried  a  sword,  a  trumpet,  and  an  earthenware 
pitcher  with  a  lighted  lamp  inside.  From  three 
separate  directions  they  rushed  down  upon  the 
sleeping  foe  and  sounded  the  trumpets  and  brake 
the  pitchers  and  held  the  flashing  lamps  on  high 
and  then  shouting  as  their  watchword,  "  The 
Sword  of  the   Lord  and  of  Gideon,"  they  burst 


296    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

into  the  great  camp  of  the  invaders.  Roused 
from  sleep,  hearing  the  trumpet  notes  and  the 
crash  of  the  breaking  pitchers  and  seeing  the 
flash  of  lights  from  all  sides  and  mighty  voices 
shouting  the  fierce  slogan,  the  Midianites  scat- 
tered like  sheep  and  all  that  great  host  ran  and 
cried  and  fled  and  every  man's  sword  was  against 
his  fellow  in  the  darkness,  and  when  day  dawned 
the  ground  was  covered  with  dead  men,  the  camp 
was  abandoned  and  nothing  was  left  of  that 
mighty  army  but  a  fringe  of  fugitives  scattered  in 
every  direction. 

It  may  be  that  some  such  test  was  in  Morford's 
mind  as  the  little  band  of  nine  scaled  the  heights 
of  Bear  Mountain.  At  any  rate  as  they  ap- 
proached the  precipice-path  he  halted  them. 

"  Boys,"  he  said,  "  I  got  word  this  afternoon 
that  these  scouts  have  only  thirty-six  hours  to  live 
unless  we  save  them.  The  guards  have  been 
doubled.  It's  going  to  be  a  desperate  chance  to 
get  to  them  and  none  of  us  may  ever  come  back. 
Now  if  any  of  you  fellows  want  to  quit,  the  time 
to  do  it  is  now  rather  than  later.  I'm  going  to 
lead  the  way  along  the  path  which  we  used  to  say 
was  the  best  nerve-tonic  in  this  county.     If  any  of 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       297 

you  fellows  get  discouraged  and  don't  want  to 
make  the  last  turn  past  old  Double-Trouble,  wThy 
back  out,  go  over  the  top  of  the  mountain  and 
down  the  other  side.  You  know  your  way  home 
and  you've  got  provisions  enough  to  last  for  the 
trip.  Only  travel  fast,  for  those  of  us  who  are  left 
are  going  to  come  right  over  the  top  of  this  moun- 
tain on  the  run  with  those  scouts — if  we  save 
'em." 

With  this  characteristic  oration,  Morford  started 
along  the  path,  first  tightening  his  heavy  revolver 
belt  so  that  it  might  not  swing  out  and  over- 
balance him  at  the  critical  moment.  He  was  in- 
stantly followed  by  six  others,  quiet,  self-contained 
men  who  like  him  had  taken  up  scouting  as  the 
best  way  of  showing  their  devotion  to  the  Union. 
The  other  three  hesitated  a  moment,  looked  at 
each  other  shamefacedly  and  then  slowly  followed 
along  the  dangerous  route.  As  Morford  reached 
Double-Trouble,  he  stopped  and  in  a  low  voice 
told  the  next  man  how  to  put  one  foot  out  into 
space  and  search  for  the  little  foothold  which 
jutted  out  below  the  main  path  and  then  how  to 
swing  around  that  desperate  curve.  Slowly  and 
with   infinite  caution  each  one  of  the  six  followed 


298    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

their  leader  and  found  himself  safe  on  the  slope  of 
the  cave.  The  seventh  man  listened  carefully  to 
the  instructions  of  the  man  before  him  as  to  how 
he  should  round  the  curve  and  gave  a  gasp  of 
horror  when  he  found  that  he  must  balance  him- 
self on  one  foot  on  a  three-inch  ledge  while  the 
other  was  in  mid-air. 

"Tell  General  Morford,"  he  finally  said,  "that I 
ain't  no  tight-rope  walker.  I  draw  the  line  at 
holdin'  on  like  a  fly,  head  downward  over  this  old 
precipice.  Anyway  I  don't  think  there's  any 
chance  to  do  anything  and  I'm  goin'  home." 

He  seemed  to  have  voiced  the  exact  sentiments 
of  the  other  two  who  had  sidled  up  and  with  out- 
stretched necks  were  examining  in  the  faint  light 
the  curve  around  Double-Trouble.  The  last  man 
spent  no  time  in  any  argument. 

"  Good-bye,  General,"  he  called  in  a  low  voice. 
"  Go  as  far  as  you  like — but  go  without  me." 

That  was  the  last  Morford  and  the  other  six  ever 
saw  of  those  men.  They  reached  home  in  safety 
after  some  days  of  wandering,  but  decided  to 
choose  another  territory  where  the  scouting  would 
not  be  quite  so  strenuous.  Morford  and  his  men 
made  themselves  comfortable  that  night.     They 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       299 

drank  deep  from  the  spring  and  then  had  a  much- 
needed  scrub.  After  a  hearty  meal  they  turned  in 
and  slept  like  dead  men  through  the  next  day  on 
the  crisp  springy  moss,  first  rolling  a  big  boulder 
against  the  side  of  Double-Trouble  so  that  no  one 
could  pass. 

Late  the  next  afternoon  they  awoke  and  found 
that  the  path  was  not  so  bad  the  second  time  as  it 
had  been  the  first.  Down  the  mountainside  by 
the  same  concealed  route  they  marched  in  single 
file  and  just  at  dark  crossed  the  river  and  entered 
the  little  village  of  Harrison.  There  they  were 
met  by  an  old  man  with  whom  Morford  had 
previously  communicated.  He  had  obtained  by 
strategy  the  countersign  which  would  take  them 
through  the  soldiers,  the  guards  and  to  the  very 
entrance  of  the  jail  itself.  Curiously  enough,  some 
Confederate  officer  had  fixed  as  the  countersign 
that  very  one  with  which  Gideon  had  conquered 
so  many  years  ago.  "  The  Sword  of  Gideon  " 
was  the  open  sesame  which  would  take  them 
past  the  guards  and  unlock  the  gates  which 
ringed  about  the  doomed  men.  Morford  ac- 
cepted it  as  a  good  omen.  The  night  before 
he    had   told   his   companions   the   old   story   of 


3oo    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Gideon's  test  and  it  came  to  them  all  as  a  direct 
message  that  God  was  fighting  on  their  side  as  he 
had  fought  of  old  against  even  greater  odds. 
Morford  planned  to  use  Gideon's  tactics.  He  de- 
cided to  surprise  and  confuse  his  enemy  and 
escape  in  the  confusion.  He  tied  the  hands  of 
two  of  his  band  behind  their  backs  and  with  the 
other  four  marched  directly  to  the  Confederate 
camp,  gave  the  countersign,  and  stated  that  he 
had  prisoners  to  deliver  to  the  jail.  The  sleepy 
sentry  passed  him  through  without  any  comment 
and  they  marched  until  they  came  to  the  high 
board  fence  with  a  double  row  of  spikes  on  top 
which  surrounded  the  prison-yard.  This  fence  at 
one  point  touched  the  edge  of  a  marsh  filled  with 
rank  grass,  briars  and  tussocks.  To  this  point  Mor- 
ford had  gone  earlier  in  the  evening  and  had  bored 
two  auger-holes  in  one  of  the  boards  and  then  with 
a  small  saw  dipped  in  oil  had  carefully  sawed  out 
one  of  the  old  timbers,  leaving  a  space  just  large 
enough  to  admit  of  a  man  passing  through. 
There  was  only  one  entrance  to  the  prison  grounds 
which  was  through  the  main  gate  besides  which 
night  and  day  sat  two  guards.  Morford  rang  at 
this  gate  and  when  it  was  opened,  presented  him- 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      301 

self  with  his  pretended  prisoners.  One  of  the 
guards  accompanied  them  to  the  main  jail 
toward  which  Morford  marched  with  his  prisoners 
and  two  men,  leaving  the  other  two  behind  with 
the  remaining  guard.  Morford  had  no  more  than 
passed  around  the  corner  when  these  two  sud- 
denly seized  the  unsuspecting  guard  at  the  gate, 
pressed  a  revolver  against  his  temple  and  in  an 
instant  gagged  him,  tied  him  up  hand  and  foot 
with  rope  which  they  had  brought  and  started  to 
the  jail  to  assist  the  others.  Usually  the  jail  was 
only  guarded  by  the  jailer  and  one  deputy  or 
assistant  who  lived  there  with  him.  To-night, 
however,  there  was  a  death-watch  of  three  extra 
men  heavily  armed  stationed  around  in  the 
corridor  in  front  of  the  cells  of  the  condemned 
men.  The  jailer  opened  the  door  and  the  sentry 
who  had  accompanied  Morford  from  the  gate  ex- 
plained that  these  were  two  prisoners  coming 
under  guard  from  Chattanooga,  and  Morford  and 
his  men  were  admitted.  Every  detail  had  been 
planned  out  ahead  and  the  prisoners  tottered  into 
the  corridor  in  an  apparently  exhausted  condition 
and  approached  the  guards  who  were  waiting  in 
front  of  the  cells,  or  rather  cages,  in  which  were 


302    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

the  condemned  men.  Suddenly  just  as  the  sup- 
posed prisoners  came  close,  the  ropes  dropped  off 
their  hands  and  each  of  said  hands  grasped  a  par- 
ticularly dangerous  looking  revolver  which  was 
aimed  directly  at  the  heads  of  the  astonished 
guards. 

"Sit  still,"  said  one  of  the  prisoners,  "and  keep 
on  sitting  still  because  I  have  very  nervous  fingers 
and  if  they  twitch,  these  revolvers  are  likely  to  go 
off." 

The  guards  followed  this  advice  and  in  an 
instant  were  disarmed  and  roped  up  like  the  guard 
at  the  gate.  So  far  everything  had  gone  like 
clockwork  according  to  program.  The  jailer, 
however,  had  yet  to  be  reckoned  with.  As  he  did 
not  seem  to  be  armed,  Morford  had  stepped 
forward  to  assist  in  disarming  the  guards  when 
with  a  tremendous  spring  the  jailer  reached  the 
door,  pulled  it  open  and  with  the  same  motion 
kicked  a  chair  at  Morford  who  had  sprung  after 
him.  Morford  tripped  over  the  chair  and  before 
he  could  get  the  door  open,  the  jailer  had  cleared 
the  staircase  with  one  jump  and  was  out  of  the 
jail,  running  toward  the  entrance.  Morford  and 
two  others  ran  after  him,  but  he  had  too  much  of 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      303 

a  start  and  reached  the  gate  fifty  yards  ahead. 
This  jailer  was  cool  enough  to  stop  at  the  gate 
long  enough  to  pull  a  knife  from  his  belt.  With 
this  he  slashed  the  ropes  of  the  bound  guard, 
pulled  him  to  his  feet  and  they  both  disappeared 
together  through  the  open  gate  in  spite  of  a 
couple  of  revolver  shots  which  Morford  sent  after 
them.  The  latter,  however,  was  prepared  for  any 
emergencies.  He  told  off  two  of  his  men  to  shut 
and  bar  the  gates  and  to  guard  against  any  attack. 
Two  others  were  to  run  around  and  around  the 
fence  on  the  inside  shouting  and  firing  as  rapidly 
and  as  often  as  their  breath  and  ammunition 
would  allow.  With  one  companion  he  returned 
to  the  jail  and  demanded  the  keys  from  the 
tethered  guard. 

"The  jailer's  got  them,  Captain,"  said  one  of 
the  guards ;  "  he  always  carries  them  with  him 
and  there  isn't  a  duplicate  key  in  the  place." 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  Already  could 
be  heard  outside  the  Confederate  camp  the  shouts 
of  the  officers  to  the  men  to  fall  in.  Only  the 
tremendous  turmoil  which  apparently  was  going 
on  inside  saved  the  day  for  Morford.  It  would 
have  been  an  easy  thing  to  force  the  rickety  old 


304    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

fence  at  any  point  or  to  dash  in  at  the  gate  if  the 
Confederates  had  known  how  small  a  force  of  res- 
cuers there  were.  They,  however,  believed  that 
the  jail  must  have  been  surprised  by  some  large 
Union  force  and  they  spent  precious  time  in  throw- 
ing out  skirmishers,  mustering  the  men  and  pre- 
paring to  defend  against  a  flank  attack.  In  the 
meantime  Morford  had  rushed  into  the  jailer's 
room  and  found  lying  there  a  heavy  axe.  With 
this  he  tried  to  break  into  the  cells  of  the  con- 
demned men  who  were  shaking  the  bars  and 
cheering  on  their  plucky  rescuers.  The  door  of 
the  cell  was  locked  and  also  barred  with  heavy 
chains.  Morford  was  a  man  of  tremendous 
strength  and  swinging  the  axe,  in  a  short  time  he 
managed  to  snap  the  chains  apart  and  smash  in 
the  outer  lock  and  with  the  aid  of  an  iron  bar 
pried  open  the  door  only  to  find  that  there  was  an 
inside  door  with  a  tremendous  lock  of  wrought 
steel  against  which  his  axe  had  absolutely  no 
effect.  Time  was  going.  Already  they  could 
hear  the  shouted  commands  of  the  Confederate 
officers  just  outside  the  fence  and  Morford  ex- 
pected any  moment  to  see  the  door  fly  in  and 
receive  a  charge  from  a  couple  of  hundred  armed 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS       305 

men.  As  he  wiped  the  sweat  off  his  forehead,  out 
of  the  corner  of  his  eye  he  saw  one  of  the  guards 
grinning  derisively  at  him.  This  was  enough  for 
Morford.  Dropping  the  axe,  he  cocked  his  re- 
volver and  with  one  jump  was  beside  the  guard. 
Placing  the  cold  muzzle  of  his  weapon  against 
the  guard's  temple,  he  ordered  him  to  tell  him 
instantly  where  the  keys  were.  There's  no  case 
on  record  where  any  man  stopped  laughing 
quicker  than  did  that  guard. 

"  I  ain't  got  'em,  Captain,"  he  gasped,  "  really  I 
ain't." 

"  I'm  going  to  count  ten,"  said  Morford,  inflexi- 
bly, "  and  if  I  don't  hear  where  those  keys  are  by 
the  time  I  say  ten,  I'm  going  to  pull  the  trigger 
of  this  forty-four.  Then  I'm  going  to  count  ten 
more  and  do  the  same  with  the  next  man  and  the 
next.  If  I  can't  save  these  prisoners,  I'm  going 
to  leave  three  guards  to  go  along  with  them." 

Morford  got  as  far  as  three  when  the  guard, 
whose  voice  trembled  so  that  he  could  scarcely 
make  himself  heard,  shouted  at  the  top  of  his 
voice : 

"  There's  a  key  in  the  pants-pocket  of  each  one 
of  us." 


3o6    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

In  spite  of  the  emergency  they  were  facing 
Morford's  men  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  ex- 
pression on  their  leader's  face  as  he  stood  and 
stared  at  the  speaker. 

"  I  have  a  great  mind,"  he  said  at  last,  "  to 
shoot  you  fellows  anyway  as  a  punishment  for 
being  such  liars  and  for  making  me  chop  up 
about  two  cords  of  iron  bars." 

"You  wouldn't  shoot  down  prisoners,  General," 
faltered  one  of  the  Confederates. 

"  No,  I  wouldn't,"  said  Morford,  commencing 
to  grin  himself,  "  but  I  ought  to." 

As  he  talked  he  had  been  fitting  the  key  into 
the  locks  and  with  the  last  words  the  door  opened 
and  the  condemned  scouts  were  once  more  free 
men.  There  was  not  an  instant  to  lose.  Already 
the  Confederates  were  battering  away  at  the  front 
gate  with  a  great  log  and  a  fusillade  of  revolver- 
shots  showed  that  the  outer  guards  were  doing  all 
they  could  to  stand  off  the  attack.  It  took  only  a 
moment  to  arm  the  scouts  with  the  weapons  taken 
from  the  guards  and  in  a  minute  the  seven  men 
were  out  in  the  prison-yard.  Morford  himself 
ran  to  the  gate,  stooping  in  the  darkness  to  avoid 
any   chance   shots   that   might   fly   through  and 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      307 

ordered  the  two  guards,  who  were  lying  flat  on 
either  side  of  the  gate  shooting  through  the  bars 
at  the  soldiers  outside,  to  join  the  others  at  the 
place  where  the  plank  had  been  removed.  It 
took  only  a  minute  for  the  men  to  rush  across  the 
dark  yard  and  reach  the  farther  corner  of  the 
fence.  Morford  sent  them  through  the  opening 
one  by  one.  Like  snakes  they  crept  into  the  tall 
grass,  wormed  their  way  through  the  tussocks 
into  the  thick  marsh  beyond  and  disappeared  in 
the  darkness.  They  were  only  just  in  time.  As 
Morford  himself  crept  through  the  opening  last 
the  gate  crashed  in  and  with  a  whoop  and  a  yell 
a  file  of  infantry  poured  into  the  yard.  At  the 
same  moment  another  detachment  dashed  around 
on  the  outside  in  order  to  make  an  entrance  at 
the  rear  of  the  supposed  Union  forces.  Morford 
had  hardly  time  to  dive  under  the  briars  like  a 
rabbit  when  a  company  of  soldiers  reached  the 
opening  through  which  he  had  just  passed. 

"  Here's  the  place,  Captain,"  he  heard  one  of 
them  say  in  a  whisper.  "  Here's  the  place  where 
they  broke  in." 

The  Confederate  officer  hurried  his  men  through 
the  gap,  not  realizing  that  it  was  really  the  place 


308    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

where  the  rescuers  had  broken  out.  As  the  last 
man  disappeared  through  the  fence,  Morford 
crept  on  into  the  marsh,  took  the  lead  of  his  men 
and  following  a  little  fox-path  soon  had  them  safe 
on  the  other  side  and  once  again  they  started  for 
Bear  Mountain.  They  reached  the  boat  in  safety 
and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river.  Instead  of  getting  out  at  the  landing, 
however,  Morford  rowed  down  and  made  the 
men  get  out  and  make  a  distinct  trail  for  a 
hundred  yards  or  so  to  a  highway  which  led  off 
in  an  opposite  direction  from  the  mountain.  Then 
they  came  back  and  got  into  the  boat  again  while 
Morford  rowed  to  where  an  old  tree  hung  clear 
out  over  the  water.  A  few  feet  from  this  tree  was 
a  stone  wall.  Morford  instructed  his  men  to 
swing  themselves  up  through  the  tree  and  jump 
as  far  out  as  possible  on  the  wall  and  to  follow 
that  for  a  hundred  yards  and  then  spring  out  from 
the  wall  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet  before  starting  for 
the  mountain.  When  they  had  all  safely  reached 
the  wall,  Morford  himself  climbed  into  the  tree 
and  set  the  boat  adrift  and  again  took  charge  of 
his  party.  Some  of  the  younger  scouts,  who  had 
never  been  hunted  by  dogs,  were  inclined  to  think 


THE  RESCUE  OF  THE  SCOUTS      309 

that  their  leader  was  unnecessarily  cautious.  The 
next  morning,  however,  as  they  lay  safe  and 
sound  on  the  slope  of  the  cave  at  the  top  of  Bear 
Mountain  and  saw  party  after  party  of  soldiers 
and  civilians  leading  leashed  bloodhounds  back 
and  forth  along  the  river-bank,  they  decided  that 
their  captain  knew  his  business.  Their  pursuers 
picked  up  the  trail  which  was  lost  again  in  the 
highway  and  finally  decided  that  the  men  must 
have  escaped  along  the  road,  although  the  dogs 
were,  of  course,  unable  to  follow  it  more  than  a 
hundred  yards.  For  three  days  the  scouts  lay 
safe  on  the  mountainside  and  rested  up  for  their 
long  trip  north.  Several  times  parties  went  up 
and  down  Bear  Mountain,  but  fortunately  did  not 
find  the  hidden  deer-path  nor  was  Morford  called 
upon  to  stand  siege  behind  old  Double-Trouble. 
When  the  pursuit  was  finally  given  up  and  the 
soldiers  all  seemed  to  be  safe  back  in  camp, 
Morford  led  his  little  troop  out  and  following  the 
same  secret  paths  by  which  they  had  come, 
landed  them  all  with  the  Union  forces  at  Mur- 
freesboro. 

So  ended  one  of  the  many  brave  deeds  of  a 
forgotten  hero. 


CHAPTER  XV 
The   Boy-General 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  BOY-GENERAL 

BOYS  are  apt  to  think  that  they  must  wait  until 
they  are  men  before  they  can  claim  the  great  re- 
wards which  life  holds  in  store  for  all  of  us.  His- 
tory shows  that  courage,  high  endeavor,  concen- 
tration and  the  sacrifice  of  self  will  give  the  prizes 
of  a  high  calling  to  boys  as  well  as  to  men.  One 
is  never  too  young  or  too  old  to  seek  and  find  and 
seize  opportunity.  Alexander  Hamilton  was  only 
a  boy  when  in  New  York  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution,  white-hot  with  indignation  and  pa- 
triotic zeal,  he  climbed  up  on  a  railing  and  in  an 
impassioned  speech  to  a  great  crowd  which  had 
collected,  put  himself  at  once  in  the  forefront 
along  with  Patrick  Henry,  Samuel  Adams,  John 
Otis  and  other  patriots  who  were  to  be  the  leaders 
of  a  new  nation.  David  was  only  a  boy  of  seven- 
teen when  he  was  sent  to  take  provisions  to  his 
brethren   in   the  army  of  the  Israelites  then  en- 


314    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

camped  on  the  heights  around  the  great  battle- 
valley  of  Elah.  There  he  heard  the  fierce  giant- 
warrior  of  a  lost  race  challenge  the  discouraged 
army.  By  being  brave  and  ready  enough  to  seize 
the  opportunity  which  thousands  of  other  men 
had  passed  by,  he  that  day  began  the  career 
which  won  for  him  a  kingdom. 

George  Washington  was  only  a  boy  when  he 
saved  what  was  left  of  Braddock's  ill-fated  army 
in  that  dark  and  fatal  massacre  and  was  hardly  of 
age  when  the  governor  of  Virginia  sent  him  on 
that  dangerous  mission  to  the  Indian  chiefs  and 
the  French  commander  at  Venango.  On  that 
mission  he  showed  courage  that  no  threats  could 
weaken  and  an  intelligence  that  no  treachery 
could  deceive  and  he  came  back  a  man  marked 
for  great  deeds.  As  a  boy  he  showed  the  same 
forgetfulness  of  self  which  he  afterward  showed 
as  a  man  when  he  refused  to  take  any  pay  for  his 
long  services  as  general  of  the  Continental  Army 
and  even  advanced  heavy  disbursements  from  his 
own  encumbered  estate. 

Napoleon  was  only  a  boy  when,  as  a  young 
lieutenant,  he  first  showed  that  military  genius, 
that  power  of  grasping  opportunities,  of  breaking 


THE  BOY-GENERAL  315 

away  from  outworn  rules  which  made  him  one  of 
the  greatest  generals  of  all  time  and  which  laid 
Europe  at  his  feet.  If  only  to  his  bravery  and 
genius  had  been  added  the  high  principle  and 
the  unselfishness  of  Washington,  of  Hamilton,  of 
David,  he  would  not  have  died  in  exile  hated  and 
feared  by  millions  of  men  and  women  and  chil- 
dren whose  countries  he  had  harried  and  whose 
lives  he  had  burdened. 

In  the  Civil  War  the  youngest  general  in  both 
the  Union  and  the  Confederate  forces  was  Major- 
General  Galusha  Pennypacker,  who  still  lives  in 
Philadelphia.  He  became  a  captain  and  major  at 
seventeen,  a  colonel  at  twenty  and  a  full  brigadier- 
general  a  few  months  before  he  became  twenty- 
one.  His  last  and  greatest  fight  was  at  Fort 
Fisher  and  the  story  of  that  day,  of  which  he  was 
the  hero,  is  typical  of  the  bravery  and  readiness 
which  made  him  the  only  boy-general  in  the 
world.  By  the  end  of  1864  the  Union  forces  had 
captured  one  by  one  the  great  naval  ports  of  the 
Confederacy,  the  gates  through  which  their  armies 
were  fed  by  the  blockade-runners  of  Europe. 
New  Orleans,  Mobile  and  Savannah  had  at  last 
fallen.     By  December,   1864,  Wilmington,   South 


316    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Carolina,  was  the  only  port  left  through  which  the 
Confederacy  could  receive  provisions  from  out- 
side. In  that  month  an  expedition  was  sent 
against  the  city  by  sea  and  land.  The  river-forces 
were  commanded  by  Admiral  Porter  while  Gen- 
erals Ben  Butler  and  Witzel  had  charge  of  the 
land-forces.  General  Butler  conceived  the  fantas- 
tic idea  of  exploding  an  old  vessel  filled  with 
powder  close  to  the  ramparts.  In  the  confusion 
which  he  thought  would  result,  he  hoped  to  carry 
the  place  by  assault.  Fort  Fisher  was  the  strong- 
est fortress  of  the  Confederacy.  Admiral  Porter 
afterward  said  that  it  was  stronger  than  the  fa- 
mous Russian  fortress  Malakoff,  which  next  to 
Gibraltar  was  supposed  to  be  the  most  impreg- 
nable fortification  in  the  world.  Fort  Fisher  con- 
sisted of  a  system  of  bomb-proof  traverses  sur- 
rounded by  great  ramparts  of  heavy  timbers 
covered  with  sand  and  banked  with  turf,  the  largest 
earthworks  in  the  whole  South  and  which  were 
proof  against  the  heaviest  artillery  of  that  day. 
The  powder-boat  was  an  abandoned  vessel  which 
was  loaded  to  the  gunnels  with  kegs  of  powder  and 
floated  up  to  within  four  hundred  yards  of  the 
fort.     When   it   was   finally    exploded,    its   effect 


THE  BOY-GENERAL  317 

upon  the  fortress  was  so  slight  that  the  Confeder- 
ate soldiers  inside  thought  it  was  merely  a  boiler 
explosion  from  one  of  the  besieging  vessels.  Gen- 
eral Butler  and  his  assistant,  General  Witzel, 
however,  landed  their  forces,  hoping  to  find  the 
garrison  in  a  state  of  confusion  and  discourage- 
ment. General  Butler  found  that  the  explosion 
had  simply  aroused  rather  than  dismayed  the  be- 
sieged. From  all  along  the  ramparts  as  well  as 
from  the  tops  of  the  inner  bastions  a  tremendous 
converging  fire  was  poured  upon  the  attacking 
force.  Back  of  these  fortifications  were  grouped 
some  of  the  best  sharp-shooters  of  the  whole  Con- 
federate Army  and  after  a  few  minutes  of  disas- 
trous fighting,  General  Butler  was  glad  enough  to 
withdraw  his  forces  back  to  the  safety  of  the  ships. 
He  refused  to  renew  the  battle  and  reported  to 
General  Grant  that  Fort  Fisher  could  not  be  taken 
by  assault.  General  Grant  was  so  disgusted  by 
this  report  that  he  at  once  relieved  General  Butler 
of  the  command  and  this  battle  was  the  end  of  the 
latter's  military  career  and  he  went  back  to  civil 
life  in  Massachusetts.  President  Lincoln  too  was 
deeply  disappointed  at  the  unfortunate  ending  of 
this  first  assault  on  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Con- 


318    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

federacy.  General  Grant  sent  word  to  Admiral 
Porter  to  hold  his  position  and  sent  General  Alfred 
H.  Terry  to  attack  the  fort  again  by  land  with  an 
increased  force.  General  Robert  E.  Lee  learned 
of  the  proposed  attack  and  sent  word  to  Colonel 
Lamont,  who  commanded  the  fort,  that  it  must  be 
held,  otherwise  his  army  would  be  starved  into 
surrender. 

On  January  13,  1865,  Admiral  Porter  ran  his 
ironclad  within  close  range  of  the  fort  and  con- 
centrating a  fire  of  four  hundred  heavy  guns 
rained  great  shells  on  every  spot  on  the  parapets 
and  on  the  interior  fortifications  from  which  came 
any  gun-fire.  The  shells  burst  as  regularly  as 
the  ticking  of  a  watch.  The  Confederates  tried 
in  vain  to  stand  to  their  guns.  One  by  one  they 
were  broken  and  dismounted  and  the  garrison 
driven  to  take  refuge  in  the  interior  bomb-proof 
traverses.  The  attacking  forces  were  divided  into 
three  brigades.  The  attack  was  commenced  by 
one  hundred  picked  sharp-shooters  all  armed  with 
repeating  rifles  and  shovels.  They  charged  to 
within  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  yards  of  the 
fort,  quickly  dug  themselves  out  of  sight  in  a 
shallow  trench  in  the  sand  and  tried  to  pick  off 


THE  BOY-GENERAL  319 

each  man  who  appeared  in  the  ramparts.  Next 
came  General  Curtis'  brigade  to  within  four 
hundred  yards  of  the  fort  and  laid  down  and 
with  their  tin-cups  and  plates  and  knives  and 
sword-blades  and  bayonets,  dug  out  of  sight  like 
moles.  Close  behind  them  was  Pennypacker's 
second  brigade  and  after  him  Bell's  third  brigade. 
In  a  few  moments,  Curtis  and  his  brigade  ad- 
vanced at  a  run  to  a  line  close  behind  the  sharp- 
shooters while  Pennypacker's  brigade  moved  into 
the  trench  just  vacated  and  Bell  and  his  men 
came  within  two  hundred  yards  of  Pennypacker. 
All  this  time  men  were  dropping  everywhere 
under  the  deadly  fire  from  the  traverses.  It  was 
not  the  blind  fire  with  the  bullets  whistling  and 
humming  overhead  which  the  men  had  learned 
to  disregard,  but  it  was  a  scattering  irregular 
series  of  well-aimed  shots  of  which  far  too  many 
took  effect.  The  loss  in  officers  especially  was 
tremendous  and  equal  to  that  of  any  battle  in  the 
war.  More  than  half  of  the  officers  engaged  were 
shot  that  day  while  one  man  in  every  four  of  the 
privates  went  down. 

When   the  men  had  at  last  taken  their  final 
positions,  the  fire  of  the  vessels  was  directed  to 


320    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

the  sea-face  of  the  fort  and  a  strong  naval  de- 
tachment charged,  with  some  of  Ames'  infantry  of 
the  land-forces,  at  the  sea  angle  of  the  fort.  The 
besieged  ran  forward  a  couple  of  light  guns 
loaded  with  double  charges  of  canister  and  grape 
and  rushed  to  the  angle  all  of  their  available 
forces.  The  canister  and  the  heavy  musketry 
fire  were  too  much  for  the  bluejackets  and  they 
were  compelled  to  slowly  draw  back  out  of 
range  while  the  Confederates  shouted  taunts  after 
them. 

"  Come  aboard,  you  sailors,"  they  yelled  ;  "  the 
captain's  ladder  is  right  this  way.  What  you 
hangin'  back  for?" 

The  last  words  were  drowned  in  a  tremendous 
Rebel  yell  as  they  saw  the  bluejackets  break  and 
retreat  out  of  range.  The  Confederates,  however, 
had  cheered  too  soon.  In  manning  the  sea-wall 
they  had  weakened  too  much  the  defenses  on  the 
landward  side  and  the  word  was  given  for  all 
three  brigades  to  attack  at  once.  The  color-bear- 
ers of  all  the  regiments  ran  forward  like  madmen, 
headed  by  the  officers  and  all  sprinting  as  if  run- 
ning a  two  hundred  and  twenty-yard  dash.  The 
officers  and  the  color-bearers  of  all  three  brigades 


THE  BOY-GENERAL  321 

reached  the  outer  lines  almost  at  the  same  time. 
With  a  rush  and  a  yell  they  were  up  over  the 
outer  wall  and  forming  inside  for  the  attack  on 
the  inner  traverses  which  yet  remained.  It  was 
desperate  work  and  the  hardest  fighting  of  the 
day  was  done  around  these  inner  bomb-proofs, 
each  one  of  which  was  like  a  little  fort  in  mini- 
ature. The  crisis  came  when  the  first  brigade  was 
barely  keeping  its  foothold  on  the  west  end  of  the 
parapet  while  the  enemy  which  had  repulsed  the 
bluejackets  were  moving  over  in  a  heavy  column 
to  drive  out  Curtis'  panting  men.  It  was  at  this 
moment  that  the  boy-general  Pennypacker  showed 
himself  the  hero  of  the  day.  He  had  already 
carried  the  palisades  and  the  sally-port  and  had 
taken  four  hundred  prisoners  and  then  wheeled 
and  charged  to  the  rescue  of  Curtis'  exhausted 
men.  Ahead  of  them  was  the  fifth  traverse  which  - 
must  be  stormed  and  crossed  before  Curtis'  men 
could  be  relieved.  Already  the  men  were  waver- 
ing and  it  was  a  moment  which  called  for  the 
finest  qualities  of  leadership.  Pennypacker  him- 
self seized  the  colors  of  the  97th  Pennsylvania,  his 
old  regiment,  and  calling  on  his  men  to  follow, 
charged  up  the  broken  side  of  the  fifth  traverse. 


322    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

His  troops  swarmed  up  after  him  side  by  side 
with  the  men  of  the  203d  Pennsylvania  and  the 
soldiers  of  the  117th  New  York,  but  Pennypacker 
was  the  first  man  to  fix  the  regimental  flag  on  the 
parapet  and  shouted  to  Colonel  Moore  of  the 
other  Pennsylvania  regiment : 

"  Colonel,  I  want  you  to  take  notice  that  the 
first  flag  up  is  the  flag  of  my  old  regiment." 

Before  Colonel  Moore  had  time  to  answer,  he 
pitched  over  with  a  bullet  through  his  heart  and 
Colonel  Bell  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  bri- 
gade as  he  came  in.  The  gigantic  Curtis  was 
righting  furiously  with  the  blood  streaming  down 
from  his  face.  Just  at  that  moment,  at  the  head  of 
his  men,  General  Pennypacker  fell  over,  so  badly 
wounded  that  never  from  that  time  to  this  was  a 
day  to  pass  free  from  pain.  His  work  was  done, 
however.  His  men  fought  fiercely  to  avenge  his 
fall,  broke  up  the  enemies'  intended  attack,  freed 
the  first  brigade  and  all  three  forces  joined  and 
swept  through  the  traverses,  capturing  them  one 
by  one  until  the  last  and  strongest  fort  of  the  Con- 
federacy had  fallen.  The  only  remaining  gate- 
way to  the  outer  world  was  closed.  After  the  fall 
of   Fort   Fisher,    it   was   only   a   few   months   to 


THE  BOY-GENERAL  323 

Appomattox.  One  of  the  bloodiest  and  most  suc- 
cessful assaults  of  the  war  had  succeeded.  Gen- 
eral Grant  ordered  a  hundred-gun  salute  in  honor 
of  the  victory  from  each  of  his  armies.  The 
Secretary  of  War,  Stanton,  himself,  ran  his  steamer 
into  Wilmington  and  landed  to  thank  personally 
in  the  name  of  President  Lincoln  the  brave 
fighters  who  had  won  a  battle  which  meant  the 
close  of  the  war. 

General  Pennypacker  was  to  survive  his  wounds. 
This  was  the  seventh  time  that  he  had  been 
wounded  in  eight  months.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  was  made  colonel  in  the  regular  army,  being  the 
youngest  man  who  ever  held  that  rank,  and  was 
placed  in  command  of  various  departments  in  the 
South  and  was  the  first  representative  of  the 
North  to  introduce  the  policy  of  conciliation. 
Later  on  he  went  abroad  and  met  Emperor  Will- 
iam of  Germany,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and 
Prince  Bismarck  and  von  Moltke,  that  war-worn 
old  general,  who  shook  hands  with  him  and  said 
that  as  the  oldest  general  in  the  world,  he  was 
glad  to  welcome  the  youngest. 

So  ends  the  story  of  a  great  battle  where  a  boy 
showed  that  he  could  fight  as  bravely  and  think 


324    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

as  quickly  and  hold  on  as  enduringly  as  any  man. 
What  the  boys  of  '64  could  do,  the  boys  of  1915 
can  and  will  do  if  ever  a  time  comes  when  they 
too  must  fight  for  their  country. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Medal-of-Honor  Men 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN 

To-DAY  in  the  world-war  that  is  being  waged 
in  two  hemispheres  among  twelve  nations,  we  hear 
much  of  the  Victoria  Cross  and  the  Iron  Cross, 
and  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  those 
tiny  immortal  symbols  of  achievement  for  which 
men  are  so  willing  to  lay  down  their  lives  and 
which  are  cherished  and  passed  on  from  father  to 
son  as  a  heritage  of  honor  undying.  Not  since 
gunpowder  sent  armor,  swords,  spears,  arrows, 
bows,  catapults  and  a  host  of  other  outworn 
equipment  to  the  scrap-heap  has  the  method  of 
warfare  been  changed  as  it  was  in  the  year  19 14. 
Battles  are  now  fought  in  the  air  and  under  the 
water  and  armies  move  forward  underground. 
Automobiles  and  power-driven  cars,  trucks  and 
platforms  have  succeeded  the  horse.  Aeroplanes 
have  taken  the  place  of  cavalry.  Vast  howitzers 
carried  piecemeal  on  trucks,  which  can  run  across 
a  rougher  country  than  a  horse,  have  made  the 


328    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

strongest  fortress  obsolete.  Bombs  which  kill 
every  living  thing  within  a  circle  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  in  diameter,  vast  cylinders  of  gas  which 
turn  the  air  for  miles  into  a  death-trap,  airships 
which  can  drop  high-power  explosives  while  in- 
visible beyond  the  clouds,  aerial  and  submarine 
torpedoes  which  can  be  automatically  guided  by 
electric  currents  from  vessels  miles  away,  guns 
that  send  vast  shells  a  mile  above  the  earth  to 
carry  death  and  destruction  to  a  point  twenty 
miles  away,  concealed  artillery  equipped  with 
parabolic  mirrors  and  automatic  range-finders 
which  can  shoot  over  distant  hills  and  mountains 
to  a  hair's  breadth,  and  destroy  concealed  and 
protected  bodies  of  men,  rifles  which  shoot  with- 
out noise  and  without  smoke,  machine-guns  that 
spray  bullets  across  a  wide  front  of  charging  men 
as  a  hose  sprays  water  across  the  width  of  a  lawn, 
wireless  apparatus  which  send  messages  thousands 
of  miles  across  land  and  sea,  all  these  and  hun- 
dreds of  other  devices  would  be  more  of  a 
mystery  to  Grant  and  Lee  and  the  other  great 
commanders  of  the  Civil  War  than  the  breech- 
loading  magazine  rifles  and  artillery  and  iron- 
clads of  their  day  would  have  been  to  Napoleon. 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  329 

The  warfare  of  to-day  is  farther  removed  from  the 
period  of  the  Civil  War  of  half  a  century  ago  than 
the  Napoleonic  wars  were  from  those  of  Hannibal 
over  a  thousand  years  before. 

Methods  have  changed,  but  men  are  the  same 
to-day  as  they  were  when  they  first  built  that 
great  tower  on  the  plain  of  Shinar.  The  eter- 
nities of  life  are  still  with  us.  Brave  deeds,  acts 
of  self-sacrifice,  truth,  honor,  courage,  unselfish- 
ness still  stand  as  in  the  days  of  old.  Every  man 
or  woman  or  child,  small  or  great,  can  achieve 
such  deeds.  At  the  end  of  this  chronicle  of  the 
brave  deeds  wrought  by  our  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers in  a  war  which  was  fought  for  an  ideal,  it 
is  most  fitting  that  the  boys  and  girls  of  to-day 
should  read  what  was  done  by  commonplace  men 
as  a  matter  of  course.  From  the  great  list  pre- 
pared by  the  War  Department  of  the  United 
States  of  those  whom  their  country  have  honored 
have  been  selected  a  few  stories  of  the  way  differ- 
ent men  won  their  Medal  of  Honor. 

In  1864  General  Sherman  was  in  the  midst  of 
his  great  march  to  Atlanta.  Grant  had  begun 
the  campaign  against  Lee's  army  which  was  to 
end  at  Richmond,  while  to  Sherman  was  given  the 


330    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

task  of  crushing  his  rival,  Joseph  E.  Johnston. 
Inch  by  inch  the  whole  of  that  march  was  fought 
out  in  a  series  of  tremendous  battles.  One  of 
these  was  the  hard  battle  of  New  Hope  Church 
in  sight  of  Kenesaw  Mountain.  The  battle  was 
fought  as  a  successful  attempt  on  the  part  of 
Sherman  to  turn  the  flank  of  Johnston's  position 
at  Alatoona  Pass.  During  the  battle,  Follett 
Johnson,  a  corporal  in  the  6oth  Infantry,  did  not 
only  a  brave,  but  an  unusual  deed.  While  his 
company  was  awaiting  the  signal  to  take  part  in 
the  battle  which  was  raging  on  their  left,  they 
were  much  annoyed  by  the  deadly  aim  of  a  Con- 
federate sharp-shooter  concealed  in  an  oak  tree  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  away.  Every  few  minutes  there 
would  be  a  puff  of  smoke  and  the  whine  of  a  minie 
bullet,  too  often  followed  by  the  thud  which  told 
that  the  bullet  had  found  its  billet.  When  at  last 
the  sixth  man,  one  of  Johnson's  best  friends,  was 
fatally  wounded  through  the  head,  Johnson  made 
up  his  mind  to  do  his  share  in  stopping  this  sharp- 
shooting  permanently.  Unfortunately  he  was  only 
an  ordinary  shot  himself,  but  he  crawled  down 
the  line  and  had  a  hasty  conference  with  one  of 
the  best  shots  in  the  regiment. 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  331 

"  You  get  a  good  steady  rest,"  said  Johnson, 
"  and  draw  a  bead  on  that  oak  tree.  I'll  kind  of 
move  around  and  get  the  chap  interested  and 
when  he  gives  you  a  chance,  you  take  it." 

The  Union  sharp-shooter  agreed  to  carry  out 
his  part  of  the  bargain.  Johnson  suddenly  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  ran  in  a  zigzag  course  to  a  position 
farther  down  the  line.  A  bullet  from  the  watcher 
in  the  tree  shrieked  close  past  his  head. 

"  Lie  down,  you  fool,"  shouted  his  captain. 
"  Are  you  trying  to  commit  suicide  ?  " 

"  Captain,  we're  fishing  for  that  fellow  over  in 
the  tree,"  returned  Johnson.    "  I'm  the  bait." 

"  Well,  you  won't  be  live-bait  if  you  keep  it  up 
much  longer,"  said  his  captain  as  Johnson  again 
took  another  run  while  a  bullet  cut  through  his 
coat  hardly  an  inch  from  his  side.  Johnson  did 
keep  it  up,  however.  Now  he  would  raise  his 
cap  on  a  stick  and  try  to  draw  the  enemy's  fire 
in  safety.  Again  he  would  suddenly  spring  up 
and  make  divers  disrespectful  gestures  toward 
the  sharp-shooter  in  his  tree.  Sometimes  he 
would  lie  on  his  back  and  kick  his  legs  insult- 
ingly up  over  a  little  breastwork  that  had  been 
hurriedly  thrown  up.     One  bullet  from  the  Con- 


332    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

federate  marksman  nearly  ruined  a  pair  of  good 
boots  for  Johnson  while  he  was  doing  this,  taking 
the  heel  off  his  left  boot  as  neatly  as  any  cobbler 
could  have  done.  The  hidden  marksman,  how- 
ever, commenced  to  show  the  effect  of  this  chal- 
lenge by  this  unknown  joker.  Little  by  little  he 
ventured  out  from  behind  the  trunk  of  the  tree  in 
order  to  get  a  better  aim.  By  the  captain's  orders 
no  one  fired  at  him  in  the  hopes  that  he  would 
give  the  watching  Union  sharp-shooter  a  deadly 
chance.  At  last  his  time  came.  Johnson  started 
his  most  ambitious  demonstration.  He  suddenly 
stood  up  in  front  of  the  breastworks  in  an  attitude 
of  the  most  irritating  unconcern.  Yawning,  he 
gave  a  great  stretch  as  if  tired  of  lying  down  any 
longer,  then  he  kissed  his  hand  toward  the  sharp- 
shooter and  started  to  stroll  down  the  front  of  the 
line,  first  stopping  to  light  his  pipe.  The  whole 
company  gave  a  gasp. 

"  That  will  be  about  all  for  poor  old  Folly," 
said  one  man  to  his  neighbor  and  every  minute 
they  expected  to  see  him  pitch  forward.  His  in- 
difference was  too  much  for  the  Confederate. 
Emboldened  by  the  absence  of  any  recent  shots, 
he  leaned   out  from  behind  the  sheltering  trunk 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  333 

in  order  to  draw  a  deadly  bead  on  the  man  who 
had  been  mocking  him  before  two  armies.  This 
was  the  chance  for  which  the  Union  sharp-shooter 
had  been  waiting.  Before  the  Confederate  marks- 
man had  a  chance  to  pull  his  trigger  there  was 
the  bang  of  a  Springfield  rifle  a  few  rods  from 
where  Johnson  was  walking  and  the  watching 
soldiers  saw  the  Confederate  sharp-shooter  topple 
backward.  The  rifle  which  had  done  so  much 
harm  slipped  slowly  from  his  hand  to  the  ground 
and  in  a  minute  there  was  first  a  rustle,  then  a 
crash  through  the  dense  branches  of  the  oak  as 
the  unconscious  body  lost  its  grip  on  the  limb 
and  pitched  forward  to  the  ground  forty  feet  be- 
low. Johnson's  captain  was  the  first  man  to 
shake  his  hand. 

"It  takes  courage  to  fish  for  these  fellows 
sometimes,"  he  said,  "but  it  takes  braver  men 
than  I  am  to  be  the  bait." 

Nearly  thirty  years  later  this  occurrence  was 
remembered  and  Corporal  Johnson  awarded  the 
medal  of  honor  which  he  had  earned. 

Another  man  who  drew  the  enemy's  fire  in 
order  to  save  his  comrades  was  John  Kiggins,  a 
sergeant  in  one  of  the  New  York  regiments.     It 


334    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

was  at  the  battle  of  Lookout  Mountain  on  No- 
vember 24,  1863.  The  terrible  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga  had  been  fought.  The  Union  Army  had 
been  reduced  to  a  rabble  and  swept  off  the 
field,  except  over  on  the  left  wing  where  Gen- 
eral George  H.  Thomas  with  twenty-five  thou- 
sand men  dashed  back  for  a  whole  afternoon 
the  assaults  of  double  that  number  of  Confeder- 
ates and  earned  the  title  which  he  was  henceforth 
to  bear  of  the  "  Rock  of  Chickamauga."  The 
defeated  army,  followed  afterward  by  General 
Thomas'  forces,  withdrew  to  Chattanooga,  that 
Tennessee  battle-ground  surrounded  by  the 
heights  of  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout  Moun- 
tain. Here  the  Union  forces  were  invested  on  all 
sides  by  the  Confederate  Army  under  General 
Bragg.  The  supplies  of  the  Union  Army  gave 
out.  The  Confederates  commanded  the  Ten- 
nessee River  and  held  all  of  the  good  wagon- 
roads  on  the  south  side  of  it.  The  Union  Army 
was  nearly  starved.  General  Rosecrans  had 
never  recovered  from  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 
Not  only  was  his  nerve  shattered,  but  he  seemed 
to  have  lost  all  strength  of  will  and  concentration 
of  purpose.     General  Grant,  who  had  just  been 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  335 

placed  in  supreme  command  of  all  the  military- 
operations  in  the  West,  decided  to  place  Thomas 
in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  in 
place  of  the  dispirited  Rosecrans.  He  tele- 
graphed Thomas  to  hold  Chattanooga  at  all 
hazards. 

"  We'll  hold  the  town  until  we  starve,"  Thomas 
telegraphed  back. 

When  Grant  reached  Chattanooga  on  October 
23d,  wet  and  dirty,  but  well,  he  realized  as  he 
saw  the  dead  horses  and  the  hollow-cheeked  men 
how  far  the  starving  process  had  gone.  Al- 
though he  was  on  crutches  from  injuries  received 
from  a  runaway  horse,  yet  his  influence  was  im- 
mediately felt  throughout  the  whole  army.  He 
was  a  compeller  of  men  like  Napoleon  and,  like 
him,  had  only  to  ride  down  the  line  and  let  his 
men  see  that  he  was  there  in  order  to  accomplish 
the  impossible.  He  at  once  sent  a  message  to 
Sherman,  who  was  coming  slowly  along  from 
Vicksburg.  His  messenger  paddled  down  the 
Tennessee  River  in  a  canoe  under  a  guerrilla-fire 
during  his  whole  journey  and  handed  Sherman  a 
dispatch  from  Grant  which  said,  "  Drop  every- 
thing and  move  your  entire  force  toward  Steven- 


336    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

son."  Sherman  marched  as  only  he  could. 
When  his  army  reached  the  Tennessee  River  he 
laid  a  pontoon  bridge  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  in  length  in  a  half  day,  rushed  his  army 
across,  captured  all  the  Confederate  pickets  and 
was  ready  to  join  Grant  in  the  great  battle  of 
Chattanooga.  General  Hooker  marched  in  from 
one  side  on  November  24th  and  fought  the  great 
battle  of  Lookout  Mountain  above  the  clouds, 
through  driving  mists  and  rains  and  on  the 
morning  of  November  25th  the  stars  and  stripes 
waved  from  the  lofty  peak  of  Lookout  Mountain. 
The  next  day  eighteen  thousand  men  without 
any  orders  charged  up  the  almost  perpendicular 
side  of  Missionary  Ridge  and  carried  it,  and  the 
three-day  battle  of  Chattanooga  was  ended  in 
the  complete  defeat  of  Bragg's  army  and  the 
rescue  of  the  men  whom  he  thought  he  had 
cornered  beyond  all  hopes  of  escape. 

It  was  during  this  first  day's  battle  in  the  mist 
on  Lookout  Mountain  that  Kiggins  distinguished 
himself.  The  New  York  regiment,  in  which  he 
was  a  sergeant,  had  crawled  and  crept  up  a  narrow 
winding  path,  dragging  their  cannon  after  them 
up  places  where  it  did  not  seem  as  if  a  goat  could 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  337 

keep  its  footing.  They  had  already  come  into 
position  on  one  side  of  the  higher  slopes  when 
suddenly  a  battery  above  them  opened  fire  and 
the  men  began  to  fall.  Through  the  mists  they 
could  see  the  stars  and  stripes  waving  over  this 
upper  battery,  which  had  mistaken  them  for  Con- 
federate soldiers.  They  were  shielded  from  the 
Confederate  batteries  by  a  wall  of  rock,  but  it 
was  necessary  to  stop  this  mistaken  fire  or  every 
man  of  the  regiment  would  be  swept  off  the 
mountain  by  the  well-aimed  Union  guns.  Ser- 
geant Kiggins  volunteered  to  do  the  necessary 
signaling.  He  climbed  up  on  the  natural  wall  of 
rock  which  protected  them  from  the  Confederate 
batteries  and  sharp-shooters  and  waved  the  Union 
flag  toward  the  battery  above  him  with  all  his 
might.  They  stopped  firing,  but  evidently  con- 
sidered it  simply  a  stratagem  and  wigwagged  to 
Kiggins  an  inquiry  in  the  Union  code.  It  was 
necessary  for  Kiggins  to  answer  this  or  the  fire 
would  undoubtedly  be  at  once  resumed.  Un- 
fortunately he  was  a  poor  wigwagger  and  as  he 
stood  on  the  wall,  he  was  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  every  Confederate  battery  or  rifleman  within 
range.     The  perspiration  ran  down  his  face  as  he 


338    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

clumsily  began  to  spell  a  message  back  to  the  bat- 
tery above.  Over  his  head  hummed  and  whirled 
solid  round  shot  and  around  him  screamed  the 
minie  balls  from  half-a-dozen  different  directions. 
Once  a  shot  pierced  his  signaling  flag  right  in 
the  middle  of  a  word.  He  not  only  had  to  re- 
place the  flag,  but  he  had  to  spell  the  word  over 
again  which  was  even  worse.  The  whole  message 
did  not  take  many  minutes,  but  it  seemed  hours 
to  poor  Kiggins.  His  life  was  saved  as  if  by  a 
miracle.  Several  bullets  pierced  his  uniform,  his 
cap  was  shot  off  his  head  and  when  the  last  word 
was  finished,  he  dropped  off  the  wall  with  such 
lightning-like  rapidity  that  his  comrades,  who  had 
been  watching  him  with  open  mouths,  thought 
that  at  last  some  bullet  must  have  reached  its 
mark.  Kiggins,  however,  was  unharmed,  but 
made  a  firm  resolve  to  perfect  himself  in  wig- 
wagging. We  have  no  record  whether  he  carried 
out  this  good  resolution,  but  his  unwilling  courage 
saved  his  regiment  in  spite  of  his  bad  spelling  and 
won  for  himself  a  medal  of  honor. 

It  was  at  the  end  of  that  terrible  Wilderness 
campaign  of  Grant's  which  in  a  little  more  than  a 
month  had  cost  him  fifty-four  thousand  nine  hun- 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  339 

dred  and  twenty-nine  men,  a  number  nearly  equal 
to  the  whole  army  of  Lee,  his  antagonist,  when  the 
campaign  was  commenced.  Grant's  first  object 
in  this  campaign  was  to  destroy  or  capture  Lee's 
army.  His  second  object  was  to  capture  Rich- 
mond, the  capital  of  the  Confederacy.  A  special 
rank  of  Lieutenant-General  had  been  created  for 
him  by  President  Lincoln  with  the  approval  of  the 
whole  country.  His  victory  at  the  dreadful  battle 
of  Shiloh,  his  successful  siege  of  Vicksburg  and 
his  winning  above  the  clouds  the  battle  of  Chatta- 
nooga, had  made  the  silent,  scrubby,  commonplace- 
looking  man,  with  the  gray-blue  eyes,  who  never 
talked  but  acted  instead,  the  hope  of  the  whole 
nation.  In  this  campaign,  Grant's  one  idea  was 
to  clinch  with  Lee's  army  and  fight  it  as  hard  and 
as  often  as  possible.  He  fought  in  the  wilder- 
ness, tangled  in  thickets  and  swamps.  He  fought 
against  strong  positions  on  hilltops,  he  fought 
against  entrenchments  defended  by  masked  bat- 
teries and  tremendous  artillery.  He  fought 
against  impregnable  positions  and  although  he 
lost  and  lost  and  lost,  he  never  stopped  fighting. 
Lee  had  beaten  McClellan  and  Pope  and  Burnside 
and    Hooker,    all   able   generals,  who   had   tried 


34Q    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

against  him  every  plan  except  that  which  Grant 
now  tried,  of  wearing  him  out  by  victories  and 
defeats  alike.  Grant's  army  could  be  replenished. 
There  were  not  men  enough  left  in  the  Confeder- 
acy to  replace  Lee's  army.  It  was  a  terrible  cam- 
paign and  only  a  president  of  Lincoln's  breadth  of 
view  and  only  the  supreme  confidence  which  the 
American  people  have  in  a  man  who  fights,  no 
matter  how  often  he  is  beaten,  kept  Grant  in  com- 
mand. If,  after  the  bloody  defeats  in  the  Wilder- 
ness and  at  Spottsylvania  or  at  Cold  Harbor,  he 
had  turned  back  like  any  of  his  successors  would 
have  done,  undoubtedly  his  past  record  would  not 
have  saved  him  the  command.  It  was  like  the 
celebrated  battle  between  Tom  Cribb,  the  cham- 
pion of  England,  and  Molineaux,  the  giant  black, 
in  the  eighteenth  century  for  the  championship  of 
the  world.  Again  and  again  and  again  Cribb 
was  knocked  down  by  blows  so  tremendous  that 
even  his  ring  generalship  could  not  avoid  them. 
Battered  and  bloody  he  always  staggered  to  his 
feet  and  bored  in  again  for  more.  Molineaux  at 
last  said  to  his  seconds,  "  I  can't  lick  a  fellow  like 
that ;  the  fool  doesn't  know  when  he  is  beaten." 
It  was  so  with  Grant  and  Lee.     Grant  never  knew 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  341 

when  he  was  beaten.  Lee's  generalship  could 
knock  him  down,  but  could  not  keep  him  back, 
and  the  Confederate  leader  realized  himself  that 
sooner  or  later  some  chance  of  war  would  give 
Grant  the  opportunity  for  a  victory  from  which 
the  Confederate  Army  could  not  recuperate. 

Cold  Harbor  was  the  last  of  this  series  of  defeats 
which  helped  wear  out  Lee's  army  and  ended  in 
its  capture  and  the  occupation  of  Richmond.  At 
the  time,  however,  it  was  bitter  to  be  borne  by  the 
millions  of  men  and  women  and  children  who 
were  hungering  and  thirsting  for  a  victory  of  the 
Union  arms.  Marching  and  fighting  and  fighting 
and  marching  every  day  for  a  month,  Grant  was 
almost  in  sight  of  the  spires  of  the  Confederate 
capital.  About  six  miles  outside  the  city  Lee  had 
taken  his  last  stand  at  Cold  Harbor.  He  held  a 
position  of  tremendous  natural  strength  and  had 
fortified  and  entrenched  it  so  that  it  was  practically 
impregnable.  Grant  tried  in  vain  to  flank  it.  On 
June  30th  he  ordered  an  assault  in  front  Against 
him  was  the  flower  of  the  Confederate  Army  com- 
manded by  the  best  general  of  the  world  and 
securely  entrenched  in  a  position  than  which  no 
stronger  was  ever  attacked  throughout  the  whole 


342    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

war.  Grant  first  gave  his  command  to  attack  on 
the  afternoon  of  June  2d,  but  then  postponed  it 
until  the  early  morning  of  June  3d.  Officers  and 
men  alike  knew  that  they  were  to  be  sacrificed. 
All  through  the  regiments  men  were  pinning  slips 
of  paper,  on  which  were  written  their  names  and 
addresses,  to  the  backs  of  their  coats,  so  that  their 
dead  bodies  might  be  recognized  after  the  battle 
and  news  sent  to  their  families  at  the  North.  The 
battle  was  a  short  one.  The  second  corps  of 
General  Hancock,  one  of  the  bravest  and  most 
dashing  of  all  of  Grant's  generals,  was  shot  to 
pieces  in  twenty-two  minutes  and  fell  back  with 
three  thousand  of  its  best  men  gone,  including 
most  of  its  officers.  All  along  the  line  the  story 
was  the  same.  At  some  places  the  Union  men 
were  beaten  back  without  any  difficulty  and  at 
other  spots  they  penetrated  the  salients,  but  were 
driven  back.  Attack  after  attack  was  in  vain  against 
the  generalship  of  Lee,  the  bravery  of  his  men  and 
the  almost  impregnable  strength  of  his  position. 

Eugene  M.  Tinkham,  of  the  148th  New  York 
Infantry,  was  in  that  corps  directly  under  the  eye 
of  Grant  himself  which  attacked  and  attacked 
the  Confederate  position  throughout  that  bloody 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  343 

morning,  only  to  be  driven  back  each  time  with 
tremendous  losses.  The  148th  Infantry,  in  which 
Tinkham  was  a  corporal,  charged  right  up  to  the 
very  mouth  of  the  guns.  Flesh  and  blood  could 
not  stand,  however,  against  the  volleys  of  grape 
and  canister  which  ripped  bloody,  struggling 
lanes  right  through  the  masses  of  the  charging 
men.  As  the  corps  of  which  Tinkham's  regiment 
was  a  part  was  stopped  by  the  wall  of  dead  and 
wounded  men  piled  up  in  front  of  them,  the  Con- 
federates with  a  fierce  Rebel  yell  charged  over  the 
breastworks  on  the  confused  attackers.  For  a 
minute  the  New  York  regiment  held  its  own,  but 
were  finally  slowly  forced  back  fighting  every 
foot  to  the  shelter  of  their  own  rifle-pits.  There 
they  made  a  stand  and  the  Confederate  sally 
stopped  and  the  men  in  gray  dashed  back  to 
their  own  fortifications.  In  this  charge,  Tinkham 
received  a  bayonet  wound  through  his  left  shoulder 
while  a  jagged  piece  of  canister  had  ripped  through 
his  left  arm.  Not  until  he  found  himself  back  in 
the  rifle-pit,  however,  did  he  even  know  that  he 
was  wounded.  His  bayonet  and  the  barrel  of  his 
rifle  were  red  clear  up  to  the  stock  and  he  did  not 
at  first  realize  that  the  blood  dripping  from  his 


344    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

left  sleeve  was  his  own.  It  was  only  as  he  lay 
on  the  dry  sand  and  saw  the  red  stain  beside 
him  grow  larger  and  larger  that  he  realized 
that  he  was  hurt.  One  of  the  few  men  who 
had  returned  with  him  stripped  off  his  coat,  cut 
away  the  sleeve  of  his  shirt  and  made  a  couple 
of  rough  bandages  and  extemporized  a  rude 
tourniquet  from  the  splinters  of  one  of  the  wheels 
of  a  battered  field-piece  which  had  flown  into  the 
pit.  When  that  was  over,  Tinkham  lay  back  and 
shut  his  eyes  and  felt  the  weakness  which  comes 
over  a  man  who  has  lost  much  blood.  To-day 
there  was  not  the  tonic  of  victory  which  some- 
times keeps  even  wounded  men  up.  He  had 
seen  his  comrades,  men  with  whom  he  had  eaten 
and  slept  and  fought  for  over  two  years,  thrown 
away,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  uselessly.  He  was  yet 
to  learn,  what  the  army  learned  first  and  the 
country  last,  that  Grant  was  big  enough  and  far- 
sighted  enough  to  know  that  some  victories  must 
be  wrought  from  failure  as  well  as  success.  This 
was  one  of  the  hammer-strokes  which  seemed  to 
bound  back  from  the  enemy's  armor  without 
leaving  a  mark,  yet  the  impact  weakened  Lee 
even  when  it  seemed  that  he  was  most  impervious 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  345 

to  it.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  to  Grant's  far- 
reaching  plans  that  Lee  be  fought  on  every 
possible  occasion.  Whether  he  won  or  lost, 
Grant's  only  hope  lay  on  keeping  Lee  on  the 
defensive.  None  of  this,  of  course,  could  a 
wounded  corporal  in  a  battered,  beaten  and 
defeated  regiment  realize.  All  he  knew  was  that 
his  friends  were  gone,  that  he  was  wounded  and, 
worst  of  all,  had  been  forced  to  again  and  again 
retreat.  He  shut  his  eyes  and  there  was  a  sound 
in  his  ears  like  the  tolling  of  a  great  bell.  It 
seemed  to  swell  and  rise  until  it  drowned  even 
the  rattle  and  roar  of  the  battle  which  was  still  go- 
ing on.  When  Tinkham  opened  his  eyes  every- 
thing seemed  to  waver  and  quiver  before  him. 
Suddenly  there  came  a  short,  thin,  wailing  sound 
which  cut  like  a  knife  through  the  midst  of  the 
unconsciousness  which  was  stealing  over  him. 
It  was  the  cries  of  two  wounded  men  lying  far 
out  in  the  field  over  which  he  had  come.  Tink- 
ham raised  his  hand  and  strained  his  eyes.  He 
could  recognize  two  of  his  own  file,  men  who 
a  moment  before  had  been  by  his  side  and  who 
now  lay  moaning  their  lives  away  out  on  that 
shell-swept  field.     Tinkham  listened  to  it  as  long 


346    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

as  he  could.  Then  he  set  his  teeth,  scrambled  to 
his  feet  and  in  spite  of  his  comrades  who  thought 
that  he  was  delirious,  climbed  stiffly  over  the  edge 
of  the  rifle-pit  and  began  to  creep  out  between  the 
lines  toward  the  wounded  men.  At  first  every 
motion  was  an  agony.  He  was  weakened  by  the 
loss  of  blood  and  he  could  bear  no  weight  on  his 
left  arm,  yet  there  was  such  a  fatal  storm  of  bullets 
and  grape-shot  whizzing  over  him  that  he  knew 
that,  if  he  rose  to  his  feet,  there  would  be  little 
chance  of  his  ever  reaching  his  friends  alive. 
Slowly  and  doggedly  he  sidled  along  like  a  dis- 
abled crab.  Sometimes  he  would  have  to  stop 
and  rest.  Many  times  bullets  whizzed  close  to 
him  and  cut  the  turf  all  around  where  he  lay. 
As  soon  as  he  had  rested  a  few  seconds,  he  would 
fix  his  eye  on  some  little  tuft  of  grass  or  stone  or 
weed  and  make  up  his  mind  that  he  would  crawl 
until  he  reached  that  before  he  rested  again.  It 
was  a  long  journey  before  he  reached  his  goal. 
On  the  way  he  had  taken  three  full  canteens  of 
water  from  silent  figures  which  would  never  need 
them  more.  When  at  last  he  reached  the  men, 
they  recognized  him  and  the  tears  ran  down  their 
faces  as  they  called  his  name. 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  347 

"God  bless  you,  Corporal,"  said  one;  "it's  just 
like  you  to  come  for  us." 

Tinkham  had  no  breath  left  to  talk,  but  he  gave 
each  wounded  man  a  refreshing  drink  from  the 
canteens.  Both  of  them  were  badly,  although  not 
fatally,  wounded.  One  had  a  shattered  leg  and 
the  other  was  slowly  bleeding  to  death  from  a 
jagged  wound  in  his  thigh  which  he  had  tried  in 
vain  to  staunch.  Tinkham  bandaged  them  up 
to  the  best  of  his  ability  and  started  to  drag  them 
both  back  to  safety.  With  his  help  and  en- 
couragement, each  of  them  crawled  for  himself 
as  best  he  was  able.  It  was  a  weary  journey. 
During  the  last  part  of  it,  however,  he  was  helped 
by  other  volunteers  who  were  shamed  into  action 
by  seeing  this  wounded  man  do  what  they  had 
not  dared.  All  three  recovered  and  lived  to  take 
part  in  the  latter-day  victories  which  were  yet  to 
come. 

Tinkham  was  but  one  of  the  thousands  of  brave 
men  who  risked  their  lives  to  save  their  comrades. 
There  was  Michael  Madden  who  at  Mason's 
Island,  Maryland,  was  on  a  reconnaissance  with  a 
comrade  within  the  enemy's  lines.  His  com- 
panion was  wounded.     A  number  of  the  enemy's 


348    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

cavalry  started  out  to  cut  off  the  two  men  who 
were  at  the  same  time  exposed  to  concentrated 
fire  from  the  enemy's  sharp-shooters.  Madden 
picked  his  comrade  up  as  if  he  had  been  a  child, 
hoisted  him  to  his  back  and  ran  with  him  to  the 
bank  of  the  Potomac,  and  plunged  off  into  the 
water.  Swimming  on  his  back,  he  kept  his 
comrade's  head  up  and  crossed  the  river  in  safety 
with  the  bullets  hissing  and  spattering  all  around 
him. 

Then  there  was  Julius  Langbein,  a  drummer- 
boy  fifteen  years  old.  In  1862  at  Camden,  N.  C, 
the  captain  of  his  company  was  shot  down. 
Langbein  went  to  his  help,  but  found  that  unless 
he  received  surgical  treatment,  he  could  not  live 
an  hour.  Unstrapping  his  drum,  he  ran  back  to 
the  rear  and  found  a  surgeon  who  was  brave 
enough  to  go  out  to  the  front  with  him  and 
under  a  heavy  fire  give  first-aid  to  the  wounded 
officer.  Then  the  two  carried  the  unconscious 
captain  back  to  safety. 

It  is  a  brave  man  that  can  rally  himself  in  a 
retreat.  Usually  men  go  with  the  crowd.  Once 
let  the  tide  of  battle  begin  to  ebb  and  a  company 
or  a  regiment  or  a  brigade  commence  a  retreat,  it 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  349 

takes  not  only  unusual  courage,  but  also  unusual 
will-power  for  any  single  man  to  stand  out  against 
his  fellows  and  resist  not  only  his  own  fears,  but 
theirs.  Such  a  man  was  John  S.  Kenyon.  At 
Trenton,  S.  C,  on  May  15,  1862,  the  whole 
column  of  his  regiment,  the  3d  New  York 
Cavalry,  was  retreating  under  a  murderous  fire 
from  the  enemy.  Kenyon  was  in  the  rear  rank. 
The  retreat  had  started  at  a  trot,  had  increased  to 
a  gallop  and  finally  the  whole  column  was  riding 
at  breakneck  speed  away  from  the  shot  and 
shell  which  crashed  through  their  ranks.  At  the 
very  height  of  their  speed  a  man  riding  next  to 
Kenyon  was  struck  in  the  right  shoulder  by  a 
grape-shot.  The  force  of  the  blow  pitched  him 
headlong  from  the  saddle.  He  still  held  to  his 
reins  with  his  left  hand  with  a  death-grip  and  was 
dragged  for  yards  by  his  plunging,  snorting 
horse.  Kenyon  was  just  ahead  and  knew  nothing 
of  the  occurrence  until  he  heard  a  faint  voice 
behind  him  calling  breathlessly,  "  Help,  John, 
help ! "  He  looked  back  and  saw  his  comrade 
nearly  fifty  yards  behind  lying  on  the  ground. 
Already  his  fingers  were  loosening  their  grip  on 
the  rein  and  the  blood  was  flowing  fast  from  the 


35o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

gash  on  his  shoulder.  Behind  him  the  Con- 
federate cavalry  came  thundering  along  not  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  away  while  the  massed  batteries 
behind  them  swept  the  whole  field  with  a  hail  of 
lead  and  steel.  John  hesitated  for  a  minute  and 
for  the  last  time  he  heard  once  more  the  call  of 
help,  this  time  so  faint  that  he  could  hardly  hear 
it  above  the  din  of  the  battle.  With  a  quick 
movement,  he  swung  his  horse  to  one  side  of  the 
column. 

"  Don't  be  a  fool,  John,"  shouted  one  of  the 
men  ahead ;  "  it's  every  man  for  himself  now. 
You  can't  save  him  and  you'll  only  lose  your  own 
life." 

It  was  the  old  plausible  lie  that  started  when 
Satan  said  of  Job,  "  Skin  for  skin,  all  that  a  man 
hath  will  he  give  for  his  life."  It  was  a  lie  then 
and  it  is  just  as  much  a  lie  to-day. 

"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  that  he  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friend,"  said  our  Master. 
Every  day  when  the  crisis  comes  we  see  men  who 
will  do  that.  Kenyon  was  one  of  these  men.  As 
he  said  afterward,  "  I  should  never  have  been  able 
to  get  Jim's  voice  out  of  my  mind  if  I  hadn't 
stopped." 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  351 

It  only  took  an  instant  to  cover  the  distance 
from  the  column  to  the  wounded  man.  Kenyon 
reached  him  just  in  time  to  catch  the  riderless 
horse  which  had  at  last  freed  his  bridle  from 
the  weak  grip  of  his  wounded  master.  Kenyon 
swung  himself  to  the  ground  and  holding  the  two 
plunging  horses  with  his  right  hand,  pulled  his 
friend  to  his  feet  and  with  a  tremendous  effort 
finally  hoisted  him  into  his  saddle  again.  By  this 
time  the  pursuing  cavalry  was  within  pistol-shot 
and  the  revolver  bullets  began  to  sing  around  the 
heads  of  the  two  men. 

"You  hang  on  to  your  saddle,  Jim,"  said 
Kenyon,  "  and  I'll  take  care  of  your  horse." 

Bending  low  in  his  saddle,  he  dug  his  spurs 
deep  into  his  horse's  sides,  at  the  same  time  keep- 
ing his  grip  on  the  reins  of  the  other  horse  and  in 
a  few  minutes  the  two  were  back  again  in  the  rear 
of  the  retreating  column.  All  through  the  retreat 
Kenyon  stuck  to  his  comrade  and  finally  landed 
him  safely  in  the  field-hospital  in  front  of  which 
the  Union  Army  had  thrown  up  entrenchments 
which  stopped  all  further  pursuit. 

War,  like  everything  else,  is  always  a  one-man 
job.     It  was  the  one  man  Hannibal  that  took  a 


352    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

tropical  army  of  sunburned  Arabs,  Carthagin- 
ians, Abyssinians,  Berbers  and  soldiers  from  half 
a  score  of  other  southern  nations  and  cut  and 
built  and  tunneled  his  way  through  the  ice  and 
snow  and  cold  of  the  Alps.  Not  only  did  his  in- 
domitable will  carry  his  men  through  an  impos- 
sible and  unknown  region,  but  it  was  this  one 
man  who  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
world  marched  elephants  up  over  the  Alps.  Over 
two  thousand  years  later  it  was  one  man  again 
who  took  a  ragged,  battered,  beaten  army  and 
marched  over  the  same  route  and  through  the 
avalanches  and  snow-covered  peaks  and  blinding 
snow-storms  of  the  Great  Bernard  Pass.  When 
the  men  turned  trembling  back  from  the  brink  of 
immeasurable  precipices  and  before  cliffs  which 
seemed  as  if  they  could  be  climbed  only  by  the 
chamois,  Napoleon  would  order  the  drums  and 
bugles  to  strike  up  the  signal  for  a  charge  and 
up  and  over  his  soldiers  went.  It  was  this  one 
short,  frail,  little  man  that  fused  this  army  into  a 
great  fighting  machine,  marched  it  over  impos- 
sible mountains  and  swept  down  into  Italy  to  win 
as  great  victories  as  did  his  fierce  predecessor 
twenty  centuries  before. 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  353 

The  records  of  the  War  Department  are  full  of 
instances  where  men  singly  did  seemingly  impos- 
sible things.  There  was  Patrick  Ginley,  a  private 
in  a  New  York  regiment.  At  Reams  Station, 
Virginia,  the  command  in  which  he  fought  de- 
serted important  works  which  they  occupied  and 
retreated  under  the  tremendous  fire  of  the  ad- 
vancing enemy.  Patrick  remained.  It  seemed 
impossible  that  only  one  man  could  do  anything 
except  throw  away  his  life,  but  Patrick  made  up 
his  mind  that  he  would  accomplish  everything 
that  one  man  could.  Accordingly  as  the  enemy 
surged  up  to  occupy  the  works  with  cheers  and 
laughter  at  the  sight  of  the  retreating  bluecoats, 
they  were  suddenly  staggered  by  receiving  a  tre- 
mendous cannonade  of  grape-shot  which  cut  down 
the  entire  first  two  ranks  of  the  approaching  com- 
pany. It  was  Private  Ginley  who,  single-handed, 
had  loaded  and  sighted  the  gun  and  coolly  waited 
until  the  enemy  were  within  pointblank  range. 
The  Confederates  were  thrown  into  confusion. 
They  suspected  a  Yankee  trick  and  thought  that 
the  retreat  had  been  made  simply  to  lure  them 
into  close  range.  In  the  confusion  they  fell  back, 
although  they  could  have  marched  in  without  any 


354    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

further  opposition,  for  as  soon  as  Ginley  had  fired 
the  gun,  he  escaped  out  of  the  rear  of  the  earth- 
works and  hastened  to  another  Union  regiment 
which  was  holding  its  ground  near  by.  Waving 
his  arms  over  his  head  and  shouting  like  a  mad- 
man, he  rushed  up  to  the  astonished  men  and 
grabbed  the  colors  out  of  the  hands  of  the  bewil- 
dered color-sergeant. 

"  Come  on,  boys  !  "  he  shouted.  "  I've  got 
some  good  guns  and  a  nice  bit  of  fortification 
just  waitin'  for  you.  Look  at  the  way  I  drove 
them  back  all  by  myself." 

And  he  waved  the  colors  toward  the  shattered 
Confederates  who  were  slowly  forming  into  line 
again  preparatory  to  an  assault,  and  started  back 
for  the  works  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him. 

"  Come  on,  you  fellows,"  he  yelled  over  his 
shoulder ;  "  do  you  want  me  to  drive  them  back 
twice  ?  " 

His  example  was  all  that  was  needed.  There 
was  a  cheer  from  officers  and  men  alike  and  close 
behind  him  thundered  the  charge  of  the  regiment. 
With  a  rush  they  swept  up  over  the  earthworks, 
drove  the  Confederates,  who  had  just  entered 
from  the  other  side,  out  headlong,  manned  the 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  355 

whole  works  and  in  a  minute  were  pouring 
charges  of  grape  and  canister  from  the  retaken 
guns  which  completed  their  victory.  A  defeat 
had  been  changed  into  a  victory,  eleven  guns  and 
important  works  had  been  retaken  from  the 
enemy  and  a  regiment  of  Confederates  dis- 
organized and  driven  from  the  field.  One  man 
did  it. 

The  deeds  that  most  appeal  to  our  imagination 
are  single  combats — one  man  against  a  multitude 
when  daring  and  dash  and  coolness  and  skill  take 
the  place  of  numbers.  History  is  full  of  such 
stories.  We  love  to  read  of  that  great  death-fight 
of  Hereward  the  Wake,  the  Last  of  the  English, 
when  with  sturdy  little  Winter  at  his  back,  he 
fought  his  last  fight  ringed  around  with  hateful, 
treacherous  foes.  At  his  feet  the  pile  of  dead  and 
wounded  men  grew  high  and  higher  until  no  one 
dared  step  within  the  sweep  of  that  fatal  sword. 
At  last  when  Winter  had  fallen,  some  treacherous 
coward  thrust  a  spear  into  Hereward's  defenseless 
back.  As  he  lay  fallen  on  his  face,  apparently 
dead,  one  of  his  foemen  stepped  over  to  rob  him 
of  his  sword  when  Hereward  struggled  to  his 
knees    and    struck    forward   with    his   shield   so 


356    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

fiercely,  the  last  blow  of  the  last  Englishman,  that 
he  laid  his  man  dead  on  the  field. 

Then  there  was  the  death-fight  of  Grettir  the 
Outlaw  which  Andrew  Lang  calls  one  of  the  four 
great  fights  in  literature  of  one  man  against  a 
multitude.  No  boy  should  ever  grow  up  without 
reading  the  Grettir  Saga  which  tells  how  after 
being  unjustly  driven  into  outlawry  Grettir  finally 
took  refuge  on  a  rocky  island  which  could  only 
be  climbed  by  a  rope-ladder.  There  with  his 
brother  and  a  cowardly,  lazy  servant  he  lived  in 
safety  until  his  enemies  hired  a  witch-wife  to  do 
him  harm.  At  midnight  she  cut  grim  runes  into 
a  great  log  of  driftwood  and  burned  strange  signs 
thereon  and  stained  it  with  her  blood  and  then 
after  laying  upon  it  many  a  wicked  spell,  had  it 
cast  into  the  sea  by  four  strong  men.  Against 
wind  and  tide  it  sailed  to  Drangy,  Grettir's  island 
of  refuge.  There  he  found  it  on  the  beach,  but 
recognized  it  as  ill-fated  and  warned  the  servant 
not  to  use  it  for  fire-wood.  In  spite  of  this  the 
lazy  thrall  brought  it  up  the  next  day  and  when 
Grettir,  not  recognizing  it,  started  to  split  the  ac- 
cursed log,  his  axe  glanced  and  cut  a  deep  gash 
in   his   leg.      The    wound   festered   and   the   leg 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  357 

swelled  and  turned  blue  so  that  Grettir  could  not 
even  stand  on  it.  When  he  was  at  last  disabled,  the 
witch-wife  raised  a  storm  and  under  her  direction 
a  band  of  his  bitterest  enemies  went  out  to  the  is- 
land and  found  that  his  servant  had  left  the  rope- 
ladder  down.  One  by  one  they  climbed  the  sheer 
cliff  and  made  a  ring  around  the  little  hut  where 
Grettir  and  his  young  brother  slept.  They  dashed 
in  the  door.  Grettir  seized  his  sword  and  shield 
and  fought  on  one  knee  so  fiercely  that  they  dared 
not  approach  him.  Some  of  the  attackers  tried  to 
slip  behind  his  watchful  sword. 

"  Bare  is  the  back  of  the  brotherless,"  panted 
Grettir  and  his  boy-brother  stood  behind  him  and 
fought  over  him  until  they  were  both  overborne 
by  the  sheer  weight  of  heavy  shields,  and  Grettir 
killed,  although  not  until  six  men  lay  dead  in 
front  of  the  great  chieftain.  Illugi,  the  brother, 
was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  promise  to  take  no 
vengeance  on  the  murderers  of  his  brother.  He 
refused  to  do  this  because  they  had  killed  Grettir 
by  witchcraft  and  treachery  and  not  in  fair  fight. 
So  they  slew  him,  trying  in  vain  to  avoid  the 
vengeance  which  came  to  them  all  many  years 
later  at  the  hands  of  another  of  Grettir' s  kin. 


358    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

We  read  also  of  battles  won  against  what  seem  to 
us  impossible  odds.  The  Samurai  stories  of  old 
Japan  have  several  instances  where  chieftains 
defeated  whole  armies  single-handed  by  their 
wonderful  swordsmanship.  The  Bible  contains 
several  such  stories.  There  is  the  story  of 
Jonathan  and  his  armor-bearer  who  together  cap- 
tured a  fortress.  Jonathan  said  to  the  young 
man  that  bare  his  armor,  "  Come  and  let  us  go 
over  unto  the  garrison.  It  may  be  that  the  Lord 
will  work  for  us."  And  his  armor-bearer  said 
unto  him,  "  Do  all  that  is  in  thine  heart,  behold  I 
am  with  thee."  Then  they  agreed  to  wait  for  a 
sign.  If  when  they  came  before  the  garrison  the 
men  should  invite  them  to  come  up,  then  they 
would  go.  If  not,  they  would  not  make  the  at- 
tempt. The  account  goes  on  to  say  that  when 
they  both  discovered  themselves  unto  the  garrison 
of  the  Philistines,  the  men  of  the  garrison  cried  out 
to  Jonathan  and  his  armor-bearer  and  said,  "  Come 
up  to  us  and  we  will  show  you  a  thing."  And 
Jonathan  said  unto  his  armor-bearer,  "  Come  up 
after  me  for  the  Lord  hath  delivered  them  to  us." 
And  Jonathan  climbed  up  upon  his  hands  and 
upon    his    feet   and   his   armor-bearer   after   him 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  359 

and  they  fell  before  Jonathan  and  his  armor- 
bearer  slew  after  him.  In  a  half-acre  of  ground 
which  a  yoke  of  oxen  might  plough,  these 
two  fought  and  slew  and  cut  their  way  back 
and  forth  until  the  band  that  held  the  fort  broke 
and  fled  and  the  stronghold  was  captured  by  the 
two. 

Then  there  was  Jashobeam  the  Hachmonite, 
one  of  the  first  three  men  of  David's  body-guard 
of  heroes  who  slew  with  his  spear  three  hundred 
men  at  one  time.  There  was  Eleazar,  who  with 
David  fought  in  that  bloody  barley  field  when 
these  two  warriors  single-handed  dispersed  a 
company  of  Philistines.  There  was  Abishai  who 
slew  three  hundred  men.  These  were  the  three 
mighty  men  who  were  besieged  with  David  in  the 
cave  of  Adullam  in  the  midst  of  a  parched  and 
burning  desert  and  David  longed  and  said,  "  Oh, 
that  one  would  give  me  to  drink  of  the  water  of 
the  well  of  Bethlehem  that  is  at  the  gate."  The 
Three  heard  what  their  captain  said  and  alone 
they  broke  through  the  ranks  of  the  Philistines, 
drew  water  out  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem  and 
brought  it  back  to  David.  And  David  did  not 
drink  of  it,  but  poured  it  out  to  the  Lord  and  said, 


36o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  Lord  forbid  that  I  should  drink  the  blood  of 
these  men  that  have  put  their  lives  in  jeopardy  for 
me." 

When  we  read  these  and  other  hero-stories, 
we  are  apt  to  think  that  the  time  for  such  deeds  is 
past  and  that  the  men  of  to-day  can  never  equal 
the  accomplishments  of  the  fighters  of  olden  time. 
Yet  the  Civil  War  shows  stories  just  as  stirring 
and  accomplishments  seemingly  as  impossible. 
There  was  George  Wilhelm,  a  captain  in  the  Ohio 
Infantry.  At  Bakers  Creek  he  was  badly  wounded 
in  the  breast  and  after  he  had  fallen  was  captured 
by  a  Confederate,  forced  to  his  feet  and  though 
faint  from  loss  of  blood  marched  to  the  Confeder- 
ate camp.  As  he  saw  himself  farther  and  farther 
away  from  his  own  army  a  Berserkir  rage  came 
over  him  which  made  him  forget  his  wound  and 
his  weakness.  With  one  tremendous  spring  he 
caught  his  captor  around  the  neck,  wrested  his 
drawn  sabre  from  out  of  his  hand,  slashed  him 
over  the  left  shoulder  and  then  picking  up  the 
loaded  revolver  which  had  dropped  from  the  dis- 
abled hand  faced  him  around  and  marched  him 
back  to  the  Union  lines  a  prisoner  although,  toward 
the   end   of  that  journey,  Wilhelm  was  so  weak 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  361 

that  he  had  to  lean  on  the  shoulder  of  his  unwill- 
ing attendant. 

There  was  William  G.  Whitney  a  sergeant  in 
the  nth  Michigan  Infantry,  at  the  battle  of  Chick- 
amauga  who,  just  as  his  men  were  about  to  face  a 
fierce  charge  from  the  Confederates,  found  that 
their  ammunition  had  given  out.  Outside  the 
Union  works  was  a  shell-swept  field  covered  with 
dead  and  wounded  men.  Whitney  never  hesi- 
tated. He  leaped  over  the  works  and  ran  back 
and  forth  over  that  field,  cutting  off  and  loading 
himself  down  with  cartridge-boxes,  although  it  did 
not  seem  as  if  a  man  could  live  a  minute  in  that 
hissing  storm  of  bullets  and  shell.  Just  in  time 
he  brought  back  the  ammunition  which  enabled 
his  men  to  beat  back  the  charge  and  hold  their 
position. 

At  Rappahannock  Station,  Virginia,  J.  Henry 
White,  a  private  in  the  90th  Pennsylvania  In- 
fantry, like  David's  men  brought  back  water  to 
his  thirsty  comrades  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life. 
The  enemy  had  concentrated  their  fire  on  the  only 
spring  from  which  Union  men  could  get  water, 
but  White  crawled  through  the  grass  like  a  snake, 
covered   from  head  to  foot  with  canteens,  filled 


362    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

them  every  one  and  crawled  back  under  a  fire 
which  seemed  as  if  it  must  be  fatal.  The  Union 
forces  were  able  to  hold  out  and  win  the  fight 
through  his  brave  deed. 

On  May  12,  1864,  Christopher  W.  Wilson,  a 
private  in  the  73d  New  York  Infantry  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Spottsylvania  in  a  charge  on  the  Confeder- 
ate works,  seized  the  flag  which  the  wounded 
color-bearer  had  dropped,  led  the  charge  and  then 
for  good  measure  cut  down  the  color-bearer  of 
the  56th  Virginia  Regiment,  captured  the  Confed- 
erate colors  and  brought  back  both  flags  in  safety 
to  the  Union  lines. 

Another  color-bearer  who  won  his  share  of 
battle-glory  was  Andrew  J.  Tozier,  a  sergeant  in 
the  20th  Maine  Infantry  at  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg. Tozier  believed  that  it  was  the  duty  of  a 
color-bearer  having  done  all  to  stand  fast.  At 
the  very  flood-tide  of  the  fight  when  it  was  a 
toss-up  which  side  would  be  the  victor  of  that 
crisis-battle  of  the  war,  Tozier's  regiment,  which 
was  in  the  forefront,  was  borne  back  leaving  him 
standing  with  the  colors  in  an  advanced  position. 
Tozier  stood  there  like  a  rock  and  coolly  picked 
off   with  his  musket  every  Confederate  that  at- 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  363 

tacked  him  until  his  ammunition  gave  out.  He 
then  pushed  forward  a  few  yards  until  he  reached 
the  body  of  one  of  the  soldiers  of  his  regiment 
who  had  fallen  and  stooping  down,  still  keeping 
his  colors  flying,  he  managed  to  loosen  some  car- 
tridges from  the  dead  man's  belt.  With  these  he 
recharged  his  rifle  and  fought  a  great  fight  alone. 
Again  and  again  he  would  stoop  for  a  minute  to 
get  more  cartridges,  but  the  flag  never  went 
down.  From  all  over  the  field  the  officers  from 
the  scattered  regiment  rallied  their  men  and  hur- 
ried toward  the  colors  and  just  as  a  Confederate 
troop  thundered  down  on  Tozier,  intending  to 
ride  over  him  and  carry  away  the  precious  flag, 
from  every  part  of  the  field  little  squads  of  fight- 
ing men  reached  him  in  time  to  pour  in  a  volley 
that  saved  the  colors  which  Tozier  for  many  min- 
utes had  been  protecting  single-handed.  That 
was  the  turning-point  of  this  part  of  the  battle. 
The  Maine  regiment  pressed  on  and  never  re- 
treated a  foot  again  through  all  those  days  of  ter- 
rible fighting.  Tozier  was  one  of  the  many  men 
who  saved  that  day  for  the  Union  by  being  brave 
in  the  face  of  tremendous  odds. 

Freeman   C.   Thompson   of  the  116th  Ohio  In- 


364    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

fantry  won  his  medal  of  honor  at  Petersburg,  Vir- 
ginia. On  April  2,  1865,  the  Union  forces  were 
storming  Fort  Gregg.  Both  sides  had  poured  in 
murderous  volleys  at  short  range  and  then  had 
rushed  to  close  quarters,  fighting  desperately  with 
bayonet  and  butt.  Thompson  scrambled  up  on 
his  hands  and  knees,  but  had  no  more  reached 
the  parapet  when  he  was  knocked  off  it  headlong 
by  a  tremendous  blow  on  the  head  from  a  clubbed 
musket.  When  he  returned  to  consciousness  he 
found  himself  lying  in  the  ditch  with  two  dead 
men  on  top  of  him.  Thompson  made  up  his 
mind  that  this  was  not  the  kind  of  company 
which  he  ought  to  keep  and  springing  to  his  feet, 
he  started  again  for  the  parapet.  This  time  he 
was  more  fortunate  for  he  gained  a  footing  and 
managed  to  bayonet  the  first  man  who  attacked 
him,  but  before  he  could  withdraw  the  bayonet, 
once  again  he  received  a  tremendous  smash  full 
in  the  face  from  a  clubbed  musket  and  went  clear 
over  backward  with  a  broken  nose.  He  struck 
on  the  heap  of  bodies  from  which  he  had  just 
emerged  and  though  not  unconscious,  lay  for  a 
few  minutes  unable  to  move.  Finally  he  man- 
aged to  wipe  the  blood  out  from  his  eyes  and  spit 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  365 

out  the  blood  and  broken  teeth  from  his  battered 
mouth.  Some  men  would  have  felt  that  they 
had  had  enough,  but  not  so  with  this  one.  For 
the  third  and  last  time  he  scrambled  up  and  as 
he  reached  the  edge  of  the  parapet  caught  sight 
of  the  man  who  was  responsible  for  his  battered 
face.  Thompson  rushed  at  him  and  there  was  a 
battle  royal  between  the  two,  bayonet  to  bayonet, 
but  Thompson  at  last  by  a  trick  of  fence  which  he 
had  learned,  suddenly  reversed  his  musket  and 
smashed  the  heavy  butt  down  on  his  opponent's 
right  forearm,  breaking  the  latter's  grip  on  his 
own  weapon.  Before  he  could  recover,  Thomp- 
son's bayonet  had  passed  through  his  throat  and 
Thompson  himself  had  gained  a  foothold  within 
the  works.  Shoulder  to  shoulder  he  fought  with 
the  rest  of  his  comrades  in  spite  of  the  streaming 
blood  and  only  stopped  when  the  garrison  surren- 
dered. 

It  is  a  brave  man  in  civil  life  that  will  give  up 
his  vacation  and  it  takes  a  hero  to  relinquish  a 
furlough,  that  precious  breathing  spell  away  from 
battles  and  hardships  back  at  home  with  his  dear 
ones.  Martin  Schubert,  a  private  in  the  26th 
New  York   Infantry,   had  gained  this  respite  and 


366    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

had  paid  for  it  by  his  wounds.  Hearing  that  his 
regiment  was  about  to  go  into  battle  again  at 
Fredericksburg,  he  gave  up  his  furlough,  hurried 
back  to  the  front  and  fought  fiercely  through  all 
that  brave  day.  Six  men  of  his  regiment,  one 
after  the  other,  had  been  shot  down  that  fatal 
afternoon  while  carrying  the  colors.  Schubert, 
although  he  already  had  one  half-healed  and  one 
open  wound,  seized  the  flag  when  it  went  down 
for  the  last  time  and  carried  it  to  the  front  until 
the  very  end  of  the  battle,  although  he  received  an 
extra  wound  for  doing  it.  Thirty-one  years  later 
he  received  a  medal  of  honor  for  that  day's  work. 
It  is  easier  to  save  a  wounded  friend  or  wounded 
comrade  than  a  wounded  enemy.  He  who  dares 
death  to  save  one  whom  he  is  fighting  against 
shows  courage  of  the  highest  type.  Such  a 
deed  occurred  during  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville.  Those  four  fatal  May-days  were  filled  as 
full  of  brave  deeds  as  any  days  of  the  Civil  War. 
Though  General  Hooker,  the  Union  general, 
flinched  and  lost  not  only  the  battle,  but  forever 
his  name  of  Fighting  Joe  Hooker,  his  men  gave 
up  only  when  they  were  outflanked  and  out- 
fought and  unsupported. 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  367 

Elisha  B.  Seaman  was  a  private  in  one  of 
the  regiments  which  was  surprised  and  attacked 
by  the  twenty-six  thousand  infantry  of  Stonewall 
Jackson,  the  best  fighters  in  the  Confederate 
Army.  The  Union  men  were  not  suspecting  any 
danger.  Word  had  been  sent  a  number  of  times 
both  to  Hooker  and  to  General  Howard  who  com- 
manded the  eleventh  corps  under  him  that  Jack- 
son was  crossing  through  the  woods  to  make  a 
flank-attack.  Neither  general  would  believe  the 
message.  Both  were  sure  that  Jackson  was  in  re- 
treat. When  the  attack  came  the  Union  troops 
were  attacked  in  front  and  from  the  flank  and  rear 
at  once.  They  held  their  ground  for  a  time,  but 
they  were  new  troops  and  even  veterans  could  not 
have  long  sustained  such  an  assault.  At  first  they 
attempted  to  make  an  orderly  retreat,  but  the  Con- 
federates pressed  on  them  so  close  and  fought  so 
fiercely  that  the  retreat  became  a  run  and  the 
corps  of  which  Seaman's  regiment  was  a  part  was 
not  rallied  until  they  met  reinforcements  far  over 
in  the  wilderness  and  gradually  came  to  a  halt 
and  threw  up  defenses.  There  they  were  too 
strong  to  be  driven  back  further  by  the  Confeder- 
ates and  managed  to  hold  their  ground  although 


368    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

attacked  again  and  again.  After  the  last  attack 
the  Confederate  forces  withdrew  and  took  up  a 
strong  position  on  the  Union  front,  brought  up 
artillery  and  opened  up  a  tremendous  rifle-fire 
mingled  with  the  cannonade  from  all  their  avail- 
able batteries,  hoping  to  throw  the  Union  forces 
into  disorder  so  that  they  would  not  stand  another 
charge.  During  the  fiercest  of  the  fire  while  every 
man  was  keeping  close  under  cover,  Seaman's  at- 
tention was  caught  by  the  sight  of  a  Confederate 
officer  who  lay  writhing  in  terrible  agony  not  a 
hundred  yards  outside  of  the  Union  lines.  He 
had  been  shot  through  the  body  in  the  last  charge 
and  had  been  left  on  the  field  by  the  retreating 
Confederates.  The  pain  was  unbearable.  Sea- 
man could  see  his  face  all  distorted  and  although 
not  a  sound  came  through  the  clenched  teeth,  the 
poor  fellow  could  not  control  the  agonized  twitch- 
ing and  jerking  of  his  tortured  muscles.  Seaman 
tried  to  turn  his  face  away  from  the  sight,  but 
each  time  his  eyes  came  back  to  that  brave  man 
in  torment  out  in  front  of  him.  At  last  he  could 
stand  it  no  longer.  He  slipped  back  to  the  rear 
and  got  hold  of  a  surgeon. 

"  Doctor,"  he  said,  "  there's  a  fellow  out  in  front 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  369 

pretty  badly  wounded.  If  I  get  him  to  you,  do 
you  think  you  can  ease  his  pain  ?  " 

"  I  certainly  can,"  said  the  surgeon,  "  but  judg- 
ing from  the  noise  out  there  in  front,  you'll  lie 
out  there  with  him  if  you  go  beyond  the  breast- 
works." 

"  You  get  your  chloroform  ready,"  said  Seaman, 
"and  I'll  get  the  man." 

A  few  minutes  later  Elisha  was  seen  by  his 
astonished  comrades  crawling  along  the  bullet- 
torn  turf  on  his  way  to  the  wounded  man. 

"  Hi  there,  come  back,  you  lump-head  !  "  yelled 
his  bunkie.  "  Don't  you  see  the  fellow  is  a 
Reb?    You'll  get  killed." 

"  I  wouldn't  let  a  dog  suffer  the  way  that  fel- 
low's suffering,"  yelled  back  Elisha,  waddling 
along  on  his  hands  and  knees  like  a  woodchuck. 
He  finally  reached  the  officer,  forced  a  little  whis- 
key into  his  mouth  and  prepared  to  lift  him  up  on 
his  back. 

"  Cheer  up,  old  man,"  he  said.  "  I've  got  a  good 
surgeon  back  there  who  says  he  can  fix  you  up. 
If  I  can  only  get  you  on  my  back,  we'll  be  safe  in 
a  minute." 

"  You'll    be   safe   enough,"    gasped   the   other 


37o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

somewhat  ungratefully,  Seaman  thought,  "  but 
there  will  be  a  dozen  bullets  through  me." 

There  seemed  to  be  something  in  that  state- 
ment. Elisha  decided  that  it  would  be  a  cruel 
kindness  to  turn  this  man  into  a  target  for  the 
bullets  which  were  coming  across  the  field  and 
make  him  act  as  his  involuntary  shield. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do,  General,"  Seaman 
said  finally ;  "  I'll  get  you  up  and  then  I'll  back 
down  to  our  lines.  If  any  one  gets  hit,  it'll  be 
me." 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word.  Although  the 
wounded  officer  was  a  large  man,  Seaman  got  a 
fireman's-lift  on  him,  swung  him  over  his  shoul- 
ders and  then  facing  the  Confederate  lines,  slowly 
backed  his  way  toward  safety.  At  first  the  Con- 
federate fire  redoubled  as  the  men  in  gray  thought 
that  he  was  simply  effecting  the  capture  of  one  of 
their  men.  When,  however,  they  realized  that  he 
was  protecting  one  of  their  own  officers  from 
their  fire  with  his  own  body,  all  along  the  line 
the  fusillade  of  musketry  died  down  and  there 
came  down  the  wind  in  its  place  the  sound  of  a 
storm  of  cheers  which  swept  from  one  end  of 
the  Confederate  position  to  the  other.     Seaman 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  371 

covered  the  last  fifty  yards  of  his  dangerous 
journey  without  a  shot  being  fired  at  him  except 
the  shot  and  shell  from  the  batteries  which  were 
being  worked  too  far  back  for  the  gunners  to 
know  what  was  going  on.  The  surgeon  with 
whom  he  had  spoken  had  been  attracted  to  the 
front  by  the  shouts  and  cheers  both  from  the 
Confederate  lines  and  from  Seaman's  own  com- 
rades and  was  the  first  to  help  him  over  the 
breastworks. 

"  You're  a  great  fool,"  he  said.  "  I  thought  you 
were  talking  about  one  of  our  men,  but  so  long 
as  you  brought  this  poor  Reb  in  at  the  risk  of 
your  life,  I'll  certainly  cure  him." 

And  he  did. 

Another  man  whose  courage  flared  up  superior 
to  wounds  and  mutilation  and  who  was  brave 
enough  to  do  his  duty  in  spite  of  the  agony  he 
was  suffering,  was  Corporal  Miles  James,  who  on 
September  30,  1864,  at  Chapins  Farm,  Virginia, 
with  the  rest  of  his  company  was  attacking  the 
enemy's  works.  They  had  charged  up  to  within 
thirty  yards  of  the  fortifications  when  they  were 
met  by  a  murderous  storm  of  grape  and  canister, 
the  enemy  having  held  their  fire  until  the  very 


372    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

last  moment.  A  grape-shot  cut  through  Corporal 
James'  left  arm  just  above  the  elbow,  smashing 
right  through  the  middle  of  the  bone  and  cutting 
the  arm  half  off  so  that  it  dangled  by  the  severed 
muscles.  The  force  of  the  blow  whirled  James 
around  like  a  top  and  he  fell  over  to  the  ground, 
but  was  on  his  feet  again  in  an  instant  and  started 
for  the  Confederate  line  like  the  bulldog  that  he 
was. 

"  Go  back,  Corporal,"  shouted  one  of  his 
men.  "  Your  arm's  half  off  and  you'll  bleed  to 
death." 

"  No  I  won't,"  yelled  James ;  "  my  right  arm  is 
my  fighting-arm  anyway." 

"  Let  me  tie  you  up  then,"  said  the  man,  pull- 
ing him  to  the  ground  where  the  rest  of  the  regi- 
ment lay  flat  on  their  faces  waiting  for  the  storm 
to  pass  so  that  they  might  charge  again.  "  There's 
plenty  of  time." 

An  examination  of  the  arm  showed  that  it  was 
past  saving. 

"  Corporal,"  said  the  other,  "  you  had  better 
let  me  take  this  arm  right  off.  I  can  make  a 
quick  job  with  my  bowie-knife  and  bandage  it. 
If  I  don't  you'll  bleed  to  death." 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  373 

"  All  right,"  said  Miles  ;  "  go  ahead." 

A  minute  later  the  amateur  surgeon  tied  the 
last  knot  in  the  bandage  which  he  had  made  out 
of  a  couple  of  bandanna  handkerchiefs  which  had 
been  contributed  by  others  of  the  file. 

"Now,  Corporal,"  he  said,  coaxingly,  "let  me 
get  you  back  where  you  can  lie  down  and  rest." 

"  No,"  said  Corporal  James,  "  the  only  resting 
I'm  going  to  do  will  be  inside  those  works." 

He  reached  back  for  the  Springfield  rifle  which 
he  had  dropped  when  first  struck  and  fitting  it 
carefully  to  his  right  shoulder,  fired  a  well-aimed 
shot  at  a  Confederate  gunner  who  was  serving 
one  of  the  cannons  on  the  breastworks.  As  the 
man  toppled  over  the  corporal  smiled  grimly  and 
in  spite  of  offers  of  help  from  all  sides,  loaded  and 
fired  his  gun  twice  again.  By  this  time  the  fire 
had  died  down  and  the  corporal  suddenly  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  started  for  the  breastworks. 

"  Hurry  up,  fellows,"  he  shouted  to  his  men  ; 
"  don't  let  a  one-armed  man  do  all  the  work." 

With  a  tremendous  cheer  the  whole  force  sprang 
again  to  their  feet  and  swarmed  over  the  ramparts 
in  a  rush  which  there  was  no  stopping.  James 
was  right  with  them,  two  of  his  men  hoisting  and 


374    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

pushing  him  up,  for  he  found  that  although  he 
could  shoot,  it  was  more  difficult  to  climb  with 
one  arm.  As  the  last  Confederates  who  were  left 
surrendered,  James  sat  down  against  one  of  the 
captured  cannon  and  smiled  wanly  at  the  man 
who  had  helped  him  and  said  : 

"  Now  I'll  take  a  rest  and  later  on  I'll  go  to  the 
rear  with  you  if  you  like." 

This  he  did  and  a  regular  surgeon  completed 
an  operation  which  he  said  had,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, been  most  efficiently  performed. 
Corporal  James  always  said  that  the  medal  of 
honor  which  the  government  gave  him  was  worth 
far  more  than  the  arm  which  he  gave  the  govern- 
ment. 

In  the  days  of  David  there  came  a  great  famine. 
Year  after  year  the  crops  failed  and  the  people 
starved.  At  last  the  priests  and  soothsayers  told 
David  that  this  doom  had  fallen  upon  the  nation 
because  of  a  broken  oath.  Many  centuries  before 
Joshua,  one  of  the  great  generals  of  the  world, 
was  righting  his  way  into  the  Promised  Land. 
He  was  contending  with  huge  black  giant  tribes 
like  the  Anakim,  and  against  blue-eyed  Amorite 
mountaineers    with    their    war-chariots    of   iron, 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  375 

whose  five  kings  he  was  to  utterly  destroy  on  that 
great  day  when  he  said  in  the  sight  of  the  host  of 
Israel,  "  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon  and 
thou  Moon  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon,"  and  the  sun 
stood  still  and  the  moon  stayed  until  the  people 
had  revenged  themselves  upon  their  enemies.  He 
had  captured  the  fortified  city  of  Jericho  and  had 
razed  it  to  the  ground  and  laid  that  terrible 
curse  which  was  afterward  fulfilled  on  the  man 
who  should  again  lay  the  foundation  and  rebuild 
the  city.  He  had  destroyed  the  city  of  Ai,  little 
but  inhabited  by  fierce  fighters  who  had  hurled 
back  even  the  numberless  hordes  of  Israel.  The 
terror  and  the  dread  of  the  invaders  had  spread 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  On 
the  slopes  of  Mount  Hermon  lived  the  Hivites. 
They  were  not  great  in  war,  but  like  the  men  of 
Tyre  they  asked  to  be  let  alone  to  carry  on  the 
trade  and  commerce  in  which  they  were  so  expert. 
Not  far  away  from  Ai  was  their  chief  city  of 
Gibeon  and  the  elders  of  that  city  planned  to 
obtain  from  Joshua  safety  by  stratagem.  They 
sent  embassadors  whose  skin  bottles  were  old  and 
rent  and  bound  up  and  whose  shoes  were  worn 
through  and  clouted  and   whose  garments  were 


376    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

old  and  worn  and  their  provision  dry  and  mouldy. 
These  came  to  Joshua  pretending  to  be  embas- 
sadors from  a  far  country  who  desired  to  make  a 
league  with  them.  Not  knowing  that  their  city 
was  in  the  very  path  of  his  march,  Joshua  and  the 
princes  of  the  congregation  made  peace  with 
them.  Later  on  they  found  that  they  had  been 
deceived,  but  the  word  of  the  nation  had  been 
passed  and  the  sworn  peace  could  not  be  broken. 
So  it  happened  from  that  day  that  the  Gibeonites 
became  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  for 
the  congregation  and  lived  in  peace  with  the 
Israelites  under  their  sworn  protection.  The  cen- 
turies passed  and  at  last  Saul,  the  first  king  of 
Israel,  began  his  reign.  In  spite  of  the  oath  of 
his  forefathers,  he  slew  the  Gibeonites  and  sought 
to  root  them  out  of  the  land.  It  was  this  broken 
oath  that  had  brought  upon  the  nation  the  years 
of  famine  and  suffering.  Under  the  advice  of 
their  priests  David  sent  for  the  remnants  of  the 
Gibeonites  and  asked  them  what  atonement  could 
be  made  for  the  cruel  and  treacherous  deed  of 
King  Saul  who  had  long  been  dead,  but  whose 
sin  lived  on  after  him.  The  Gibeonites  said  that 
they  would  have  no  silver  or  gold  of  Saul  or  of 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  377 

his  house,  but  demanded  that  seven  men  of  the 
race  of  Saul  be  delivered  unto  them.  It  was  done 
and  they  hung  these  seven  prisoners  as  a  venge- 
ance on  the  bloody  house  of  Saul.  Two  of  them 
were  the  sons  of  Rizpah  whom  she  bore  unto  Saul, 
the  king.  When  they  were  hanged,  she  took 
sackcloth  and  spread  it  on  the  rocks  and  guarded 
those  bodies  night  and  day  and  suffered  neither 
the  birds  of  the  air  to  rest  upon  them  by  day  or 
the  beasts  of  the  field  by  night.  Sleeplessly  she 
guarded  all  that  was  left  of  her  sons  until  the  news 
of  her  faithfulness  was  brought  to  David,  who  gave 
back  to  her  the  bodies  for  burial  and  for  the  last 
rites  of  sepulchre  and  sanctuary  which  mean  so 
much  to  all  believers. 

In  the  Civil  War  at  Cold  Harbor,  Virginia,  Ser- 
geant LeRoy  Williams  of  the  8th  New  York  Ar- 
tillery, like  Rizpah,  saved  the  body  of  his  dead 
colonel  and  brought  it  back  at  the  risk  of  his  own 
life  for  honored  burial.  During  that  terrible  battle 
in  one  of  the  charges  of  his  regiment,  his  colonel 
was  shot  down  close  to  the  enemy's  lines.  When 
the  shattered  remnants  of  the  regiment  rallied 
again  after  they  had  been  driven  back  by  the  en- 
trenched Confederates,  it  was  found  that  the  colo- 


378  BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

nel  was  missing.  Williams  had  a  profound  ad- 
miration and  affection  for  his  colonel.  When  he 
found  he  was  missing,  he  took  an  oath  before  the 
men  that  were  left  that  he  would  find  him  and 
bring  him  in  dead  or  alive.  All  the  rest  of  that 
weary  afternoon  he  crept  back  and  forth  over  the 
battle-field  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy's 
sharp-shooters.  Again  and  again  his  life  was 
saved  almost  by  a  miracle,  so  close  did  the  well- 
directed  bullets  strike.  Finally  just  at  twilight 
close  to  the  enemy's  lines  he  found  his  colonel. 
He  lay  as  he  had  fallen,  facing  the  entrenchments 
which  he  had  fought  so  hard  to  win,  with  a  bullet 
through  his  heart.  Within  a  few  feet  of  where  he 
lay  the  Confederate  pickets  were  stationed  who 
watched  the  field  and  fired  at  the  least  suspicious 
movement.  Just  as  Williams  identified  the  body, 
he  saw  one  of  the  sentries  approaching  in  the 
dusk  and  had  just  time  to  throw  himself  down 
with  outstretched  arms  beside  the  dead  officer 
when  the  guard  was  upon  him.  Something  in 
his  attitude  aroused  the  man's  suspicions  and  he 
prodded  Williams  in  the  back  with  his  bayonet. 
Fortunately  the  sharp  steel  struck  him  glancingly 
and  only  inflicted  a  shallow  wound  and  Williams 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  379 

had  the  presence  of  mind  and  the  fortitude  to  lie 
perfectly  quiet  without  a  motion  or  a  sound  to  in- 
dicate that  he  lived.  The  sentry  passed  on  con- 
vinced that  only  dead  men  lay  before  him.  Will- 
iams waited  until  it  became  perfectly  dark  and 
started  to  drag  in  the  dead  body  of  his  officer. 
Inch  by  inch  he  crept  away  from  the  enemy's  lines 
in  the  darkness  until  he  was  far  enough  away  so 
that  his  movements  could  not  be  seen.  All  that 
weary  night  he  dragged  and  carried  the  rescued 
body  of  the  dead  officer  until  just  at  dawn  he 
brought  it  within  the  Union  lines  to  receive  the 
honors  of  a  military  funeral. 

Space  fails  to  tell  of  the  many  brave  deeds 
which  gleam  through  the  blood  of  many  a  hard- 
fought  field  and  shine  against  the  blackness  of 
many  a  dark  defeat.  There  was  David  L.  Smith, 
a  sergeant  in  Battery  E  of  the  1st  New  York 
Light  Artillery,  who,  when  a  shell  struck  an  am- 
munition chest  in  his  battery,  exploding  a  number 
of  cartridges  and  setting  fire  to  the  packing  tow, 
instead  of  running  away  from  the  exploding  cart- 
ridges which  threatened  every  minute  to  set  fire 
to  the  fuses  of  some  of  the  great  shells,  had  the 
coolness  and  the  courage  to  bring  a  bucket  of 


38o    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

water  and  put  out  the  flames  as  quietly  as  if  he 
were  banking  a  camp-fire  for  the  night. 

There  was  Isaac  Redlon,  a  private  in  the  27th 
Maine  Infantry,  who  shortly  before  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga  was  put  under  arrest  for  a  gross 
breach  of  discipline.  Isaac  saw  a  chance  to  wipe 
out  the  disgrace  which  he  had  incurred.  Instead 
of  staying  at  the  rear  with  the  wounded  and  other 
men  under  arrest,  he  managed  to  get  hold  of  a 
rifle  and  fought  through  the  two  terrible  days  of 
that  disastrous  battle.  So  bravely  did  he  fight,  so 
cool  was  he  under  fire  and  so  quick  to  carry  out 
and  to  anticipate  every  order  that  was  given,  that 
when  the  battle  was  at  last  over,  his  captain  de- 
cided that  not  only  had  Redlon  wiped  out  the  mem- 
ory of  his  former  misdoing,  but  that  he  had  earned 
the  medal  which  was  afterward  awarded  to  him. 

Another  man  whose  bravery  wiped  out  his  mis^ 
takes  was  Colonel  Louis  P.  DiCesnola  of  the 
4th  New  York  Cavalry.  On  June  17,  1863,  he 
was  under  arrest  when  the  battle  was  joined  at 
Aldie,  Virginia.  It  was  the  bitterest  day  that  the 
colonel  had  ever  known  when  in  the  guard-house 
he  watched  his  regiment  go  into  action  without 
him.     He  felt  that  he  had  ruined  his  whole  career 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  381 

and  that  his  life  through  his  folly  and  hot-headed- 
ness  was  a  complete  failure.  There  was  granted 
to  him,  however,  as  there  is  to  all  of  us,  the  op- 
portunity to  make  amends.  While  he  was  still 
moodily  watching  the  progress  of  the  battle,  sud- 
denly he  saw  the  men,  whom  he  had  so  often 
led,  waver.  Then  stragglers  began  to  slip  back 
through  the  lines  and  suddenly  the  whole  regi- 
ment was  in  full  retreat.  Colonel  DiCesnola  did 
not  hesitate  a  moment. 

"  Open  that  door,"  he  said  to  the  guard.  "  I'll 
show  those  fellows  how  to  fight  and  I'll  come 
back  when  it's  all  over." 

Without  a  word  the  sentry  unlocked  the  door 
and  the  colonel  rushed  out  just  in  time  to  meet 
the  first  rank  of  the  flying  men.  Almost  the  first 
man  that  he  met  was  the  officer  who  had  taken 
his  place,  riding  the  colonel's  own  horse.  DiCes- 
nola gripped  the  animal  by  the  bridle. 

"  Get  off  that  horse,"  he  shouted,  "  and  let  some 
one  ride  him  who  knows  which  way  to  go.  He's 
not  used  to  retreating,"  and  before  his  bewildered 
successor  could  answer,  he  was  hurled  out  of  the 
saddle  and  Colonel  DiCesnola  was  on  the  back  of 
his  own  horse. 


382    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

"  About  face,  charge  I "  he  thundered  to  his 
men.  Most  of  them  recognized  his  voice  and  the 
familiar  figure  that  so  often  led  them  and  without 
hesitating  a  moment,  wheeled  about  and  followed 
him  toward  the  front.  Every  few  yards  his  troop 
was  increased  by  men  who  were  ashamed  to  ride 
to  the  rear  when  they  saw  him  charging  to  the 
front  unarmed  but  waving  his  hat  and  cheering 
them  on.  Before  the  Confederates  could  realize 
what  had  happened  they  were  fairly  hurled  off 
their  feet  by  the  tremendous  rush  of  hurtling  men 
and  horses.  Of  all  the  attacks  which  are  hard  to 
withstand,  the  charge  of  a  body  of  men  who  have 
rallied  and  are  trying  to  wipe  out  the  shame  of 
their  retreat  is  most  to  be  feared.  It  was  so  here. 
Although  the  Confederates  fought  hard  nothing 
could  hold  back  the  rush  of  this  cavalry  regiment. 
They  were  led  by  their  own  colonel  who  though 
unarmed  stayed  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle.  As 
they  finally  broke  through  the  Confederate  line,  a 
burly  cavalryman  slashed  at  him  with  his  sabre. 
Colonel  DiCesnola  stooped  low  to  avoid  the  cut, 
but  the  point  of  the  sabre  caught  him  on  the  right 
shoulder  and  ripped  deep  into  his  chest  while  al- 
most at  the  same  moment  he  received  a  pistol 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  383 

shot  in  his  left  arm  which  broke  it.  Unable  to 
hold  the  reins,  he  slipped  forward  and  would  have 
fallen  to  the  ground,  but  was  held  in  his  saddle 
by  his  first  assailant  who  forced  his  horse  up  close 
beside  the  colonel's  and  dashed  back  through  the 
Confederate  lines  carrying  DiCesnola  and  his 
magnificent  horse.  There  the  colonel  was  made 
prisoner,  but  was  carefully  nursed  and  by  the  time 
that  he  had  recovered  his  strength,  was  exchanged 
and  rejoined  his  old  regiment.  He  reported  to 
his  general  as  still  under  arrest. 

"  You  are  mistaken,"  said  the  latter.  "  I  saw 
the  way  you  rallied  your  men  that  day  and  when 
you  were  reported  missing,  we  thought  you  had 
been  killed.  The  charges  against  you  are  dis- 
missed and  your  record  is  just  as  clean  as  it  ever 
was  and  your  old  regiment  is  waiting  for  you." 

The  story  of  William  W.  Noyes,  a  private  in 
the  2d  Vermont  Infantry,  and  his  charmed  life  is 
still  told  by  the  veterans  who  fought  at  Spottsyl- 
vania.  On  that  day  the  madness  of  battle  came 
over  him.  When  that  happens,  life  has  no  value 
except  to  spend  it  for  the  cause  for  which  one  is 
fighting.  Noyes'  regiment  had  charged  up  to  the 
breastworks  of  the  enemy  from  which  was  poured 


384    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

into  the  attacking  forces  tremendous  volleys. 
Noyes  had  charged  with  the  others,  but  when 
they  stopped  to  rally  at  the  breastworks  prepara- 
tory to  forcing  them,  Noyes  never  paused.  Right 
up  the  parapet  he  scrambled  and  stood  on  top  of 
the  breastworks  with  his  musket  in  full  range  of  a 
thousand  men.  Taking  deliberate  aim  he  shot 
the  man  just  below  him  who  was  aiming  his  gun 
at  him  not  more  than  two  yards  away.  In  full 
sight  of  both  armies  he  stood  there  and  loaded 
and  fired  no  less  than  fifteen  shots.  Not  one  of 
them  missed  its  mark.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  men 
all  around  him  who  were  exposed  to  his  fire  shot 
at  him.  The  bullets  cut  through  his  clothing,  car- 
ried off  his  cap  and  one  stripped  the  sights  off  his 
rifle  and  ricochetted  off  the  hammer  itself,  but  not 
a  wound  did  he  receive.  His  example  spurred 
his  comrades  on  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  whole 
regiment  struggled  over  the  earthworks  and  drove 
out  the  garrison. 

Joseph  von  Matre,  a  private  in  the  116th  Ohio 
Infantry,  did  the  same  thing  at  Petersburg  on 
April  2,  1865,  during  the  assault  on  Fort  Gregg. 
He  climbed  up  the  parapet  and  fired  down  into 
the  fort  as  fast  as  his  comrades  could  pass  up  to 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  385 

him  loaded  guns.  No  bullet  could  harm  him  and 
single-handed  he  drove  the  men  out  of  that 
embrasure  after  killing  several  and  forced  a  gap 
which  was  filled  by  the  men  who  climbed  up 
when  he  shouted  down  to  them  what  he  had 
done. 

This  chronicle  of  brave  deeds  would  not  be 
complete  without  the  stories  of  the  men  who  were 
brave  enough  to  disregard  all  odds  either  in 
numbers  or  in  circumstances.  There  was  Delano 
Morey,  a  private  in  the  82d  Ohio  Infantry,  who 
at  McDowell,  Virginia,  found  himself,  after  the 
charge  of  the  Confederates  had  been  repulsed, 
with  an  empty  gun  and  no  ammunition.  Just  in 
front  of  him  were  two  of  the  enemy's  sharp- 
shooters who  had  been  picking  off  the  Union 
officers  all  through  the  charge.  Each  of  them 
was  a  dead  shot  and  each  of  them  had  a  loaded 
gun.  Menacing  them  both  with  his  empty  piece, 
Morey  rushed  forward  and  called  on  them  to 
surrender.  The  superb  confidence  of  the  man 
was  too  much  for  them  and  without  a  word  each 
of  them  handed  him  his  loaded  rifle  and  walked 
meekly  back  with  him  as  prisoners  to  the  Union 
lines. 


386    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

There  was  Frank  W.  Mills,  a  sergeant  in  a  New 
York  regiment,  who  while  scouting  at  Sandy 
Cross  Roads  in  North  Carolina,  with  only  three  or 
four  men  under  him,  suddenly  came  upon  a  whole 
troop  of  the  enemy.  Without  orders  and  seem- 
ingly without  the  possibility  of  succeeding,  Mills 
charged  down  upon  the  Confederates  at  the  head 
of  his  regiment,  consisting  of  four  men.  Cour- 
age took  the  place  of  numbers.  The  Con- 
federates scattered  like  sheep  and  Mills  and  his 
men  rounded  up  no  less  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  prisoners  who  stacked  their  arms  and 
marched  obediently  into  the  Union  lines. 

Augustus  Merrill,  a  captain  in  the  ist  Maine 
Infantry,  performed  a  similar  feat  at  Petersburg 
when  with  six  men  he  captured  sixty-nine  Con- 
federate prisoners  and  recaptured  and  released  a 
number  of  Union  soldiers  whom  they  had  made 
prisoners. 

The  4th  of  May,  1863,  was  a  great  day  for  John 
P.  McVean,  a  corporal  in  the  49th  Infantry.  On 
that  day  at  Fredericksburg  Heights,  Virginia,  he 
fought  at  the  forefront  of  his  company  and  when 
the  order  to  charge  was  given,  outstripped  them 
all,  reached  the   Confederate  lines  entirely  alone, 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  387 

shot  down  the  Confederate  color-bearer,  seized  the 
colors  and  fought  back  all  attempts  to  retake 
them  until  his  comrades  could  come  to  his  assist- 
ance. Later  in  the  day  he  showed  that  he  could 
be  just  as  brave  away  from  the  inspiration  and 
excitement  of  battle.  Between  the  lines  stood  a 
barn  which  was  occupied  by  a  number  of  Con- 
federate sharp-shooters  who  were  greatly  annoy- 
ing the  Union  forces  by  picking  off  men  at  every 
opportunity.  McVean's  captain  finally  ordered  his 
men  to  charge  on  the  barn  and  drive  them  out. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  Captain,"  said  the  corporal ;  "  I 
believe  I  can  make  those  fellows  surrender  with- 
out losing  any  men.     Let  me  try  anyway." 

Without  waiting  for  the  captain  to  reply,  the 
corporal  laid  down  his  gun  and  alone  and  un- 
armed and  beckoning  as  he  walked  with  his  hand 
toward  the  barn,  started  for  the  sharp-shooters. 
Seeing  that  he  was  not  armed  they  allowed  him 
to  come  within  speaking  distance. 

"  I  have  come  to  take  you  men  prisoners,"  he 
said  positively ;  "  we  don't  want  to  kill  you,  but  if 
you  don't  come  now,  we  are  going  to  charge  and 
this  is  your  last  chance." 

The  men  inside  hesitated  a  minute,  but  there 


388    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

was  such  an  air  of  supreme  confidence  about 
McVean  that  first  one  and  then  another  and  then 
the  whole  band  of  twelve  men  marched  out  and 
followed  him  back  to  the  Union  lines.  Once  more 
a  brave  man  had  accomplished  the  impossible. 

There  were  no  braver  men  in  all  the  Union 
Army  than  were  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  differ- 
ent batteries  whose  guns  did  so  much  to  bring 
about  the  final  victory  of  the  Union  arms.  The 
courage  of  our  cannoneers,  men  who  saved  the 
guns  in  spite  of  every  attack  and  who  often  saved 
them  in  many  a  defeat,  has  never  been  surpassed. 
The  affection  of  a  gunner  for  the  piece  which  he 
has  manned  and  served  in  many  a  hard-fought 
battle  is  like  that  which  a  cavalryman  has  for  his 
horse.  Like  the  rider,  the  crew  of  a  battery  will 
risk  all  to  save  their  gun.  At  Wilson's  Creek, 
Missouri,  on  August  10,  1861,  Nicholas  Broquet, 
a  private  in  one  of  the  Iowa  batteries,  showed  the 
spirit  that  was  in  him  when  the  gun  that  he  was 
serving  was  disabled.  The  battery-horses  had 
been  shot  down,  all  the  crew  except  himself  had 
been  killed  by  the  tremendous  fire  of  the  enemy 
and  across  the  field  appeared  a  detachment  of  the 
enemy's  forces  sent  to  capture  the  gun.     Broquet 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  389 

cut  the  traces  of  the  dead  horses,  rushed  out  be- 
tween the  lines  in  the  face  of  a  fierce  fire  and  suc- 
ceeded in  catching  a  riderless  horse.  He  rode 
the  animal  back  to  the  gun,  made  him  fast  to  it 
and  just  as  the  enemy's  detachment  was  close 
upon  him,  rode  off  in  safety,  trundling  the  rescued 
gun  behind  him. 

John  F.  Chase  was  a  cannoneer  of  the  same 
stamp.  At  Chancellorsville  he  was  serving  as  a 
private  in  a  Maine  battery.  A  shell  from  one  of 
the  enemy's  guns  struck  down  the  officers  and 
killed  or  disabled  every  man  of  the  battery  except 
Chase  and  one  other.  They  manned  the  gun, 
sighted  it  as  best  they  could  and  fired  three 
rounds  at  the  approaching  enemy.  Then  as  the 
horses  had  been  killed  and  it  was  certain  that  the 
gun  would  be  captured  in  a  few  minutes,  they 
fastened  themselves  to  the  traces  and  tugged 
away  until  they  got  the  gun  in  motion.  Al- 
though it  was  a  heavy  one  which  ordinarily  took 
two  horses  to  drag  it,  yet  these  two  actually 
pulled  the  gun  across  the  rough  field  safe  to  the 
main  line  of  the  Union  forces  and  saved  it  from 
capture. 

Three   of  the   most   spectacular   deeds   of  the 


390    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

whole  war  were  those  of  Lieutenant  Thomas  W. 
Custer,  Private  Samuel  E.  Eddy  and  Adjutant 
Eugene  W.  Ferris.  Custer  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  6th  Michigan  Cavalry  and  was  present  at  the 
spirited  engagement  at  Sailors  Creek,  Virginia, 
when  the  Union  forces  attacked  the  entrenched 
Confederates.  Custer's  company  charged  in  the 
face  of  a  heavy  fire  on  the  enemy's  works. 
When  they  reached  the  entrenchments  the  order 
was  received  to  dismount  and  to  continue  the 
charge  on  foot.  Custer  was  riding  a  thorough- 
bred and  preferred  to  continue  the  charge  on 
horseback.  Spurring  his  horse  up  to  the  lowest 
part  of  the  ramparts,  he  actually  leaped  him  over 
and  landed  in  the  very  midst  of  the  astonished 
defenders.  Making  a  dash  for  the  color-bearer, 
Custer  cut  him  down,  seized  the  colors  and 
wheeled  and  galloped  right  through  the  demoral- 
ized men  to  the  other  end  of  the  works,  intending 
to  capture  the  colors  displayed  there.  As  he 
broke  through  the  ranks  of  the  defenders  for  the 
second  time,  a  volley  of  straggling  shots  was  fired 
at  him.  One  bullet  pierced  his  thigh  and  two 
more  struck  his  horse,  killing  the  latter  instantly. 
Custer  rolled  over  and  over  with  the  struggling 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  391 

animal,  managed  to  pull  himself  loose  and  still 
clinging  to  the  captured  colors,  with  the  blood 
streaming  down  his  leg,  rushed  at  the  last  color- 
bearer,  shot  him  down  with  his  revolver  and 
seized  his  colors  and  with  his  back  to  the 
rampart,  fought  off  all  attempts  to  rescue  them. 
A  moment  later  his  companions  climbed  over  the 
earthworks  and  rescued  him  just  as  he  was  on 
the  point  of  fainting  from  loss  of  blood. 

Eddy  was  a  private  in  the  37th  Massachusetts 
Infantry  and  on  April  6,  1865,  was  present  at  the 
battle  of  Sailors  Creek,  Virginia.  While  his  regi- 
ment was  fighting  desperately  to  hold  their  posi- 
tion, Eddy  saw  that  his  adjutant  lay  wounded  far 
out  beyond  their  lines.  A  little  detachment  of 
Confederate  soldiers  approached  and  to  Eddy's 
horror,  he  saw  them  deliberately  shoot  down  sev- 
eral of  the  wounded  Union  men.  One  of  them 
approached  the  adjutant  to  whom  Eddy  was 
much  attached.  He  could  not  bear  to  see  him 
killed  without  at  least  attempting  to  rescue  him 
and  he  at  once  rushed  out  beyond  the  protection 
of  his  own  line.  As  he  approached  the  adjutant, 
he  saw  the  leader  of  the  Confederate  attachment 
in  the  act  of  taking  aim  at  the  wounded  officer. 


392    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

Eddy  was  an  excellent  shot  and  at  once  knelt 
down  and  took  rapid  but  accurate  aim  and  killed 
the  Confederate  just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of 
firing.  He  ran  forward  to  his  adjutant,  but  there 
he  encountered  three  Confederates  and  had  a 
hand-to-hand  bayonet  fight  with  them.  Eddy 
was  a  man  of  tremendous  strength  and  reach  and 
managed  to  kill  one  of  his  assailants  and  severely 
wound  another.  While  he  was  so  engaged,  how- 
ever, the  third  ran  him  through  the  body  with  his 
bayonet  and  pinned  him  to  the  ground.  While 
the  enemy  was  struggling  to  disengage  his  bayo- 
net for  another  fatal  thrust,  Eddy,  by  a  last  des- 
perate effort,  managed  to  slip  a  cartridge  into  his 
gun  and  just  as  his  opponent  was  aiming  a  deadly 
stab  at  his  throat,  shot  him  through  the  body. 
Then  wounded  as  he  was,  he  staggered  to  his 
feet  and  half-carried,  half-dragged  the  wounded 
adjutant  back  to  the  safety  of  the  Union  lines 
where  they  were  both  nursed  back  to  health  and 
strength. 

Ferris  was  an  adjutant  in  the  30th  Massachu- 
setts Infantry.  On  April  1,  1865,  at  Berry ville, 
Virginia,  accompanied  only  by  an  orderly,  he  was 
riding  outside  the  Union  lines  when  he  was  at- 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  393 

tacked  by  five  of  Mosby's  guerrillas.  It  was  not 
the  custom  of  Mosby's  men  either  to  ask  or  give 
quarter  or  to  take  prisoners.  Ferris  who  was 
well  mounted  could  probably  have  escaped,  but 
would  have  had  to  leave  his  orderly  behind,  as  the 
latter's  horse  was  a  slow  one.  Accordingly,  al- 
though both  the  men  were  armed  only  with 
sabres,  Ferris  made  up  his  mind  to  fight  to  the 
death.  Without  waiting  to  be  attacked,  he 
spurred  his  horse  at  the  guerrilla-leader  and  sud- 
denly executing  a  demi-volte  which  is  only  effect- 
ive when  performed  by  a  good  sabre  and  a 
trained  horse,  he  whirled  like  lightning  and 
caught  his  opponent  such  a  tremendous  back- 
handed slash  that  he  cut  him  almost  to  the  saddle. 
As  the  man  toppled  over,  Ferris  slipped  one  arm 
around  his  waist  and  managed  to  unbuckle  his 
pistol-belt  and  seize  both  of  his  pistols.  He  then 
at  once  engaged  with  another  one  of  the  band 
and  while  parrying  and  thrusting,  saw  out  of  the 
tail  of  his  eye  a  third  man  aiming  a  revolver  at 
him  only  a  few  yards  away.  Parrying  a  thrust 
from  his  opponent  in  front,  Ferris  simultaneously 
fired  with  the  other  hand.  Although  Ferris  was 
shooting  with  his  left  hand,  his  bullet  killed  his 


394    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

opponent  while  the  Confederate's  fire  struck 
Ferris  just  above  the  left  knee,  inflicting  a  painful 
but  not  dangerous  flesh-wound.  Ferris  pressed 
his  opponent  in  front  still  more  vigorously  and 
finally  succeeded  in  wounding  him  so  severely 
that  he  turned  and  bolted,  leaving  Ferris  free  to 
go  to  the  rescue  of  his  orderly,  who  had  been  put- 
ting up  a  good  fight  against  the  other  two  of  the 
band.  Ferris  reached  him  just  in  time.  He  had 
been  wounded  twice  and  though  fighting  bravely, 
one  of  his  antagonists  had  managed  to  reach  a 
position  in  his  rear.  There  was  not  much  time  for 
Ferris  to  do  anything  with  his  sabre.  Everything 
must  depend  upon  a  pistol  shot.  Stopping  his 
horse,  he  drew  his  remaining  pistol,  took  careful 
aim  and  shot  the  man  behind  his  orderly  through 
the  body  just  as  the  latter  had  his  sabre  uplifted 
for  a  last  blow  at  the  hardly-pressed  Union  officer. 
The  remaining  guerrilla,  who  had  already  been 
slightly  wounded  by  the  orderly,  wheeled  his  horse 
and  rode  off  leaving  the  two  Union  men  in  pos- 
session of  the  field  and  the  spoils  of  war,  consisting 
of  two  capital  pistols  and  a  magnificent  riderless 
horse  which  they  brought  back  with  them. 

One  of  the  most  devoted  deeds  of  courage  in 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  395 

the  war  is  chronicled  last.  On  July  21,  1861,  the 
first  great  battle  of  the  war  was  fought  at  Bull 
Run,  Virginia,  not  far  from  the  federal  capital.  It 
was  a  disastrous  day.  Unorganized,  commanded 
by  inexperienced  officers,  that  battle  soon  became 
the  shameful  rout  which  for  a  long  time  was  the 
basis  of  the  belief  throughout  the  South  that  one 
Southerner  could  whip  four  Northerners. 

Charles  J.  Murphy  was  quartermaster  on  that 
day  in  the  38th  New  York  Infantry.  It  was  not 
his  business  to  fight.  He  was  there  to  feed  and 
look  after  his  men  and  it  was  no  more  his  duty  to 
join  the  battle  than  that  of  the  surgeons,  the  band, 
or  any  of  the  other  non-combatants  which  ac- 
company a  regiment.  When,  however,  he  saw 
the  masses  of  beaten,  discouraged,  panic-stricken 
men  straggling  back,  Murphy  made  up  his  mind 
that  the  rear  was  no  place  for  him.  Seizing  a 
rifle  which  one  of  the  retreating  men  had  thrown 
away,  he  rushed  forward  and  did  all  that  one  man 
could  to  stop  the  retreat,  fighting  as  long  and  as 
hard  as  he  could.  It  was  beyond  his  power.  His 
regiment  were  bewildered,  confused  and  broke 
and  fled  like  sheep,  leaving  hundreds  of  wounded 
men  on  the  field.     Murphy  made  up  his  mind  that 


396    BRAVE  DEEDS  OF  UNION  SOLDIERS 

he  would  have  no  part  or  lot  in  this  rout  and  also 
that  he  would  not  desert  his  wounded  comrades, 
for  in  those  days  there  were  terrible  tales  rife  of 
how  the  Confederates  treated  wounded  soldiers. 
The  Union  fighters  had  not  yet  learned  that  their 
antagonists  were  the  same  brave,  fair  fighters 
that  they  were.  Murphy  stayed  behind.  When 
the  victorious  Confederate  forces  marched  down 
the  field,  they  found  it  held  by  one  man  who  was 
giving  water  to  the  wounded  and  doing  his  clumsy 
best  to  staunch  the  flowing  blood  from  many  a 
ghastly  wound. 

"  Do  you  surrender  ?  "  shouted  the  first  officer 
who  approached  him. 

"  Not  if  you  are  going  to  hurt  these  wounded 
men,"  said  Murphy,  bringing  his  bayonet  into 
position. 

"We  will  take  just  as  good  care  of  them  as  we 
will  of  our  own,"  the  officer  assured  him,  and  only 
on  this  assurance  did  Murphy  surrender.  He 
spent  years  in  Rebel  prisons,  but  no  prison  could 
ever  take  away  from  him  the  recollection  that  he 
alone  had  refused  to  retreat  on  that  disastrous 
day  and  that  he  had  risked  his  life  and  given  up 
his  liberty  to  save  his  wounded  comrades. 


MEDAL-OF-HONOR  MEN  397 

So  ends,  with  these  little  stories  of  sudden  hero- 
acts  wrought  by  commonplace  men  in  a  matter- 
of-fact  manner,  this  chronicle  of  a  few  of  the 
many,  many  brave  deeds  done  by  our  fore- 
fathers in  a  war  that  was  fought  for  an  ideal. 
Read  them,  boys  and  girls,  in  these  war-days  that 
we  may  remember  anew  the  lessons  which  the 
lives  and  deaths  of  our  kin  hold  for  us.  If  the 
day  ever  comes  when  we  too  must  fight  for  ideals 
which  other  nations  have  forgotten  or  have 
trampled  upon,  may  we  show  ourselves  worthy 
of  the  great  heritage  of  honor  which  our  fore- 
fathers have  handed  down  to  us. 


BRAVE -DEEDS 


SERI  E  S 


